GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 38,770.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 443,513 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 442,372 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.98% of Ulta Beauty worth $162,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $430,674,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth $239,432,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 10,336.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 459,110 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $199,681,000 after purchasing an additional 454,711 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at about $73,780,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,074,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 1.5%

ULTA stock traded down $7.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $465.83. 438,397 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 989,625. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $309.01 and a 1-year high of $491.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $388.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $389.42.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.79 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The company's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were 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 owns 7,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This trade represents a 10.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $415.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ulta Beauty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $384.00 to $423.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $437.00 price target (up from $386.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $465.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $460.91.

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.