Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Position

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group cut its Ulta Beauty stake by 3.2% in the third quarter, selling 3,319 shares; it still held 100,139 shares valued at about $54.7 million.
• Ulta beat quarterly estimates, reporting $6.55 per share in earnings and $3.04 billion in revenue, with sales up 8.9% year over year. The company guided to fiscal 2026 EPS of $28.70–$29.00.
• Institutional investors own 90.39% of Ulta’s stock. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $631.30; the article also reports stock sales by the CEO and a director.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,139 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,319 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Ulta Beauty worth $54,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 512,509.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,464,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,530,443,000 after purchasing an additional 6,462,739 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter valued at about $1,815,712,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,024,623 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $913,064,000 after acquiring an additional 22,036 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 598,104 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $312,635,000 after acquiring an additional 11,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 544,686 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $245,642,000 after acquiring an additional 68,205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $634.89 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $569.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $554.01. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $443.60 and a fifty-two week high of $714.97. The company has a market cap of $27.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.83.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $6.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.22 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 45.40% and a net margin of 9.34%. Ulta Beauty's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.78 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.700-29.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Lorna Nagler sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.31, for a total value of $322,386.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,851,438.08. This represents a 7.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kecia Steelman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.88, for a total value of $1,091,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,489 shares in the company, valued at $22,102,135.32. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Ulta Beauty

Here are the key news stories impacting Ulta Beauty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ulta plans to sell WHOOP fitness trackers and related health insights on Ulta.com and in select stores starting in March 2027. The partnership could broaden its wellness assortment and attract new customers, though its sales impact is not yet known. WHOOP and Ulta Beauty partnership announcement
• Positive Sentiment: The retailer’s holiday campaign features Selena Gomez and Tate McRae, giving Ulta a high-profile seasonal marketing push that could help draw shoppers during the holiday period. No sales forecast was provided. Ulta Beauty holiday campaign
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks says Ulta’s earnings-surprise history and current estimate indicators point to the possibility of another quarterly earnings beat. This is an analyst-screen signal, not a new company earnings report or guarantee. Zacks earnings outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: A report points to increased beauty, fashion and wellness spending among some users of weight-loss drugs, a possible category tailwind; it does not establish a specific benefit to Ulta. Report on GLP-1 users’ spending

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ULTA shares. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $685.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Ulta Beauty from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Citigroup cut shares of Ulta Beauty from a "neutral" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $631.30.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc is a specialty beauty retailer that offers cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrance, bath and body products, beauty tools, and related accessories. Its assortment includes national and emerging brands, prestige and mass-market products, and Ulta Beauty's private-label merchandise. The company also provides salon services, including hair styling, haircuts, coloring, and treatments, along with brow and skin services in many of its locations.

Founded in 1990 as Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, the company operates primarily in the United States through a network of retail stores and digital channels, including its website and mobile application.

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