Lynch Asset Management Inc. Buys 2,500 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Lynch Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 172.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,950 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the quarter. Lynch Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 347.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 71,491 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $35,061,000 after buying an additional 55,508 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,442 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $113,620,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,188 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Asio Capital LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 64.3% during the fourth quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 10,171 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,984,000 after acquiring an additional 3,980 shares during the period. Finally, AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the third quarter worth about $879,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

NASDAQ ULTA traded down $3.85 on Wednesday, reaching $450.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 875,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 766,362. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a twelve month low of $368.02 and a twelve month high of $574.76. The firm's 50 day moving average is $523.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $466.49. The stock has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.30.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value 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 $5,523,936.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 $5,523,936.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,222.90. 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. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ULTA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $583.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $665.00 to $595.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $570.70.

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.