VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases New Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems acquired 73,220 Ulta Beauty shares worth approximately $33.0 million, giving it a 0.17% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 90.39% of the company.
• Ulta Beauty exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $6.55 EPS versus the $6.22 consensus and $3.04 billion in revenue, up 8.9% year over year. The company maintained fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $28.70–$29.00.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $626.59 target price, although price targets range from $450 to $645. Shares recently opened at $564.12.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 73,220 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $33,021,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned 0.17% of Ulta Beauty at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ULTA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at about $430,963,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 42.7% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 6,996 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,233,000 after buying an additional 2,093 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 97.3% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 35,739 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $18,681,000 after buying an additional 17,625 shares in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,024,000. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2,704.0% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 79,465 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $48,077,000 after acquiring an additional 76,631 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 383 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.84, for a total transaction of $182,246.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,143,919.36. The trade was a 13.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $564.12 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $507.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $528.09. The company has a market capitalization of $24.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.85. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1-year low of $443.60 and a 1-year high of $714.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $6.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $0.33. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.34% and a return on equity of 45.40%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.78 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.700-29.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ULTA. Evercore set a $635.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $647.00 to $645.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 28th. B. Riley Financial decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $626.59.

About Ulta Beauty

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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