Spire Wealth Management Increases Holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 643.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,494 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 6,486 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $2,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 218.5% in 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 during the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 71.4% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 96 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ULTA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $384.00 to $423.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $460.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $490.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $462.22.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $457.66. 834,518 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,041,952. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $423.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $399.70. The company has a market cap of $20.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $491.98.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $6.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.73 by $0.97. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 49.73%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.47 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.