Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) PT Lowered to $476.00

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) had its target price reduced by The Goldman Sachs Group from $605.00 to $476.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the specialty retailer's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $565.00 to $475.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $665.00 to $595.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Loop Capital raised Ulta Beauty from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $540.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $539.55.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock traded down $2.28 on Tuesday, reaching $401.68. The company had a trading volume of 665,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 760,340. The firm has a market cap of $19.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.36. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $467.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $471.05. Ulta Beauty has a 1 year low of $368.02 and a 1 year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.68 EPS. Ulta Beauty's revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 26.48 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ULTA. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 7,347 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,842,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at approximately $435,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 5.7% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 29,252 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $15,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

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.