Voya Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Voya Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,460 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,151 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Ulta Beauty worth $9,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 218.5% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 86 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 71.4% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 96 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth $36,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ULTA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $589.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $543.13.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $525.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average of $510.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $440.06. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 12 month low of $309.01 and a 12 month high of $539.00.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 48.78% and a net margin of 10.31%.The firm's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total transaction of $264,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,195,837.09. This represents a 18.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Ulta Beauty

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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