First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 102.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,319 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 33,564 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.14% of Ulta Beauty worth $28,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 199.5% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,646 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,021,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 12,088 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth $348,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

ULTA stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $390.19. The stock had a trading volume of 306,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,051,645. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $460.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50-day moving average price is $359.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $382.95.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.13 by $1.33. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.08 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ULTA shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $364.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $415.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $427.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total value of $332,982.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.