Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Vanguard increased its Ulta stake by 0.4% in Q4 to 5,376,848 shares, representing about 12.12% of the company and worth roughly $3.25 billion.
• Several other institutions sharply raised positions (e.g., Holocene, Andra AP fonden, Invesco, Caisse, AQR), and about 90.39% institutional ownership underscores heavy hedge fund/institution interest.
• Ulta beat quarterly EPS and revenue and set FY2026 guidance of 28.05–28.55 EPS; sell-side consensus EPS is 28.44 and the average analyst price target is $674.23 (Moderate Buy).

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,376,848 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 23,434 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.12% of Ulta Beauty worth $3,253,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ULTA. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 339.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 351,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 228,800 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $125,096,000 after purchasing an additional 228,735 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 33.6% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 249.8% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 295,833 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $161,747,000 after purchasing an additional 211,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 76.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 477,504 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $222,794,000 after purchasing an additional 207,084 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total value of $243,759.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $538.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.95. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 12-month low of $377.63 and a 12-month high of $714.97. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $580.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $587.87.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.90 billion for 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 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on ULTA shares. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Argus increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $775.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 13th. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Evercore set a $725.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $674.23.

Ulta Beauty Company 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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