Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 41.3%, owning 14,029 shares worth approximately $6.7 million after buying an additional 4,103 shares in the second quarter.
• Ulta Beauty's latest quarterly earnings reported $5.78 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $5.03, with revenue rising to $2.79 billion, a 9.3% increase compared to the previous year.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Ulta Beauty, with recommendations ranging from “underweight” to “buy”, indicating a varied outlook on the company's stock performance.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,029 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 4,103 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $6,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total transaction of $264,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,195,837.09. This trade represents a 18.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.2%

ULTA stock opened at $524.60 on Wednesday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $539.00. The company has a market capitalization of $23.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $515.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $446.13.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 48.78%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.30 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $595.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $543.13.

Ulta Beauty Profile

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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