Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 1,043 Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Ulta Beauty by 19.5%, selling 1,043 shares and ending with 4,299 shares valued at approximately $1.58 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in Ulta Beauty, with GAMMA Investing LLC boosting its stake by an impressive 38,770.6%.
• Ulta Beauty's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $5.78, exceeding expectations, and a revenue increase of 9.3% year-over-year.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 19.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,299 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,043 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ULTA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 128.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,225,023 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $449,021,000 after acquiring an additional 688,267 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 38,770.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 443,513 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $162,565,000 after buying an additional 442,372 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 81.7% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 913,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $334,871,000 after buying an additional 410,900 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 64.8% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 931,557 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $341,453,000 after buying an additional 366,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 5,117.0% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 220,312 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $80,753,000 after buying an additional 216,089 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $492.73 on Monday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52 week low of $309.01 and a 52 week high of $538.59. The company's fifty day moving average is $498.99 and its 200-day moving average is $427.60. The company has a market capitalization of $22.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $364.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $650.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $534.75.

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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