Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 78,816 Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. by 174.5%, acquiring an additional 78,816 shares in the 1st quarter, bringing their total to 123,977 shares worth approximately $45.37 million.
• Ulta Beauty's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $6.70, exceeding analysts' expectations of $5.73, and revenues increased by 4.5% year-over-year, hitting $2.85 billion.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Ulta Beauty, with estimates ranging from $350.00 to $525.00, reflecting a mix of ratings, including one sell, thirteen hold, and twelve buy ratings.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 174.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 123,977 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 78,816 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.27% of Ulta Beauty worth $45,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 218.5% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 86 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 71.4% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 96 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter worth about $37,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $532.71 on Thursday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a one year low of $309.01 and a one year high of $534.10. The company has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.12. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $486.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $416.90.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $6.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.73 by $0.97. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 49.73%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.47 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $440.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $327.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $315.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $490.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $473.00.

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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