Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,251 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 952 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Ulta Beauty worth $21,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at about $430,674,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at about $239,432,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 10,336.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 459,110 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $199,681,000 after acquiring an additional 454,711 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 38,770.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 443,513 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $162,565,000 after acquiring an additional 442,372 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at about $73,780,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA stock traded up $0.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $476.84. 474,112 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,044,466. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $445.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $403.50. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52-week low of $309.01 and a 52-week high of $498.52.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.47 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ULTA shares. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $510.00 price objective (up from $480.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $460.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Argus cut Ulta Beauty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $465.04.

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.