Bfsg LLC Has $3.07 Million Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Bfsg LLC raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 53.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,258 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,167 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $3,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 364.3% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7,300.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ ULTA traded down $2.54 on Thursday, reaching $408.01. 706,525 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 770,570. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $502.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $468.22. The company has a market cap of $19.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.30. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12 month low of $368.02 and a 12 month high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 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 the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.68 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $876,222.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Loop Capital upgraded Ulta Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $540.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $438.00 price objective (down previously from $585.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $350.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $556.52.

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.