KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,016 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $8,428,000 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 ULTA. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 71.4% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 96 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total value of $264,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,195,837.09. The trade was a 18.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages have commented on ULTA. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $590.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $549.21.
View Our Latest Report on Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty Price Performance
Shares of ULTA opened at $561.15 on Friday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1-year low of $309.01 and a 1-year high of $572.23. The stock has a market cap of $25.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $527.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $462.69.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 48.78%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.30 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ulta Beauty Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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