Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Purchases 10,810 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 26.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,978 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 10,810 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned about 0.11% of Ulta Beauty worth $27,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ULTA. Nvwm LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,828 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,386,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nkcfo LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Nkcfo LLC now owns 183 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ULTA traded down $2.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $402.11. 575,238 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 767,155. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.30. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $368.02 and a 1 year high of $574.76. The firm's fifty day moving average is $492.28 and its 200-day moving average is $469.32.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.68 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $656.00 to $635.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $548.05.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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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