Praxis Investment Management Inc. Takes $234,000 Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Praxis Investment Management Inc. has acquired a $234,000 stake in Ulta Beauty Inc., purchasing 500 shares during the second quarter.
• Ulta Beauty reported quarterly earnings of $5.78 EPS, exceeding expectations, with revenue totaling $2.79 billion, a 9.3% increase year-over-year.
• Institutional investors currently control 90.39% of Ulta Beauty's stock, with several firms adjusting their positions and target prices recently.

Praxis Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ULTA. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 142.9% during the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 178.4% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $533.51 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.08. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $572.23. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $531.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $471.12.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 48.78% and a net margin of 10.31%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total transaction of $264,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,195,837.09. This represents a 18.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ULTA. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, August 29th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ulta Beauty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $605.00 target price (up previously from $580.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $550.38.

Ulta Beauty Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc operates as a specialty beauty retailer in the United States. The company offers branded and private label beauty products, including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools through its Ulta Beauty stores, shop-in-shops, Ulta.com website, and its mobile applications.

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