Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. cut its Ulta Beauty stake by 15.9% in the first quarter, selling 8,424 shares and leaving it with 44,455 shares valued at about $23.2 million.
• Ulta still has heavy institutional support, with 90.39% of shares owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, though some other funds made very large position changes in the latest filings.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue expectations, but analysts remain mixed overall with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $638.09.

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,455 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 8,424 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.10% of Ulta Beauty worth $23,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 52,171.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,474,042 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $77,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,222 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $430,963,000. Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 339.6% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 379,939 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $207,732,000 after purchasing an additional 293,516 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 1,837.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 230,998 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $139,756,000 after buying an additional 219,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 33.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 840,383 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $459,479,000 after purchasing an additional 211,485 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 383 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.84, for a total transaction of $182,246.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,143,919.36. This trade represents a 13.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.9%

ULTA stock traded up $8.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $469.20. 425,933 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 703,513. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $484.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $567.92. The company has a market cap of $20.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.88. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a one year low of $443.60 and a one year high of $714.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $7.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $0.85. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 9.36%.The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.70 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.360-28.800 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $635.00 to $700.00 in a research report on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Argus set a $550.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $560.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $638.09.

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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