Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA Shares Sold by Strategic Financial Services Inc.

Key Points

• Strategic Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in Ulta Beauty by 27.0%, now holding 2,519 shares valued at approximately $923,000.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Ulta Beauty, with notable increases from MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. (174.5%) and Man Group plc (65.2%).
• Analysts have given Ulta Beauty a strong outlook, with ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Hold" and an average target price of $543.13.

Strategic Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 27.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,519 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 931 shares during the quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ULTA. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,255 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $981,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 174.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $6,224,000 after acquiring an additional 9,096 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 17,421 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $7,703,000 after acquiring an additional 2,105 shares during the period. Man Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 205,503 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $89,379,000 after acquiring an additional 81,102 shares during the period. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at $303,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ULTA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $605.00 price objective (up from $580.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $543.13.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty 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 transaction of $264,215.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,195,837.09. The trade was a 18.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $515.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.06. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a one year low of $309.01 and a one year high of $539.00. The company's fifty day moving average is $507.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $435.24.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.03 by $0.75. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 48.78%. The business's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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