Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA Shares Bought by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management sharply increased its Ulta Beauty position in Q4, boosting holdings by 872.4% to 38,350 shares valued at about $23.2 million.
• Ulta reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with $8.01 EPS and $3.90 billion in revenue, both topping analyst estimates and showing 11.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive despite mixed views: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with a $687.95 price target, though Barclays recently downgraded it to strong sell.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 872.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,350 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 34,406 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.09% of Ulta Beauty worth $23,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 265 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,543 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 10.5% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 211 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 996 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total value of $243,759.08. Following the sale, the director owned 2,383 shares in the company, valued at $1,285,128.07. The trade was a 15.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $481.56 on Wednesday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52 week low of $402.50 and a 52 week high of $714.97. The company has a market capitalization of $20.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's fifty day moving average is $537.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $586.43.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.08. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 9.31%.The company had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on ULTA shares. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Evercore set a $725.00 price objective on Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays downgraded Ulta Beauty from an "overweight" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $687.95.

Ulta Beauty Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc NASDAQ: ULTA is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer's product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.

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