Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA Shares Sold by Isthmus Partners LLC

Key Points

• Isthmus Partners LLC sharply reduced its Ulta Beauty stake in the fourth quarter, selling 28,810 shares and cutting its holdings by 98.7% to just 377 shares worth about $228,000.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with multiple firms maintaining or raising bullish ratings; Jefferies upgraded ULTA to buy and lifted its price target to $700, while the consensus rating is still “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $687.95.
• Ulta posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, reporting EPS of $8.01 on revenue of $3.90 billion, both ahead of estimates, while also guiding FY2026 EPS to $28.05–$28.55.

Isthmus Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 98.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 377 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 28,810 shares during the quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $511,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 816 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 2,389.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,356 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,641,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 555 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 42.7% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 6,996 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,233,000 after purchasing an additional 2,093 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Ulta Beauty in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ulta Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $635.00 to $700.00 in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $687.95.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,285,128.07. This trade represents a 15.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of ULTA opened at $494.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $544.12 and a 200-day moving average of $586.42. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52 week low of $402.50 and a 52 week high of $714.97.

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

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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