Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 2,481.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 87,490 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 84,101 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.18% of Ulta Beauty worth $42,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 364.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now 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 available through this hyperlink. In other 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the 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. Insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $397.39. The company had a trading volume of 591,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 763,636. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a twelve month low of $368.02 and a twelve month high of $574.76. The stock has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.36. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $489.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $468.82.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.68 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $350.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lowered Ulta Beauty from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $612.00 to $434.00 in a report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $580.00 to $520.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $548.05.

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.

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