Blair William & Co. IL Cuts Stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL has significantly reduced its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 56.3%, selling 18,520 shares and now owns 14,349 shares worth approximately $5.26 million.
• Ulta Beauty's recent quarterly earnings exceeded analyst expectations, reporting $6.70 EPS against a consensus estimate of $5.73, along with a revenue of $2.85 billion.
• Analysts generally rate Ulta Beauty with a consensus of "Hold," with price targets varying from $364.00 to $525.00, reflecting differing outlooks on the company's performance.

Blair William & Co. IL cut its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 56.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,349 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 18,520 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $5,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 71.4% in 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 position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 1.9%

ULTA stock traded down $10.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $506.17. 799,576 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 537,293. The company has a market cap of $22.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $482.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $414.36. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52 week low of $309.01 and a 52 week high of $523.68.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $6.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.47 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ULTA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Argus downgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $327.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $542.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $490.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research 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. According to MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $469.09.

About Ulta Beauty

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.