Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA Stake Increased by Patton Fund Management Inc.

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management increased its stake in Ulta by 48.9% in Q4 to 13,312 shares (about $8.05M), representing ~1.1% of the fund's portfolio and its 21st largest position.
• Quarterly results: Ulta beat estimates with $8.01 EPS vs $7.93 and $3.90B revenue vs $3.81B, with revenue up 11.8% year-over-year and FY2026 guidance of $28.05–$28.55 EPS.
• Analyst/ownership view: The stock carries a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $674.23, and institutional investors hold roughly 90.39% of shares.

Patton Fund Management Inc. increased its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 48.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,312 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 4,369 shares during the period. Ulta Beauty comprises about 1.1% of Patton Fund Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $8,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth $1,903,000. Burney Co. increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 18,016 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $10,900,000 after buying an additional 2,466 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2,550.0% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 53 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 271,671 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $164,364,000 after buying an additional 58,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coerente Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Coerente Capital Management now owns 37,876 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $22,915,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $775.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $775.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $674.23.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Ulta Beauty stock opened at $526.87 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $609.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $588.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.95. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a one year low of $347.48 and a one year high of $714.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.46 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total transaction of $243,759.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,285,128.07. This represents a 15.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

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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