Warther Private Wealth LLC Acquires New Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Warther Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 12,293 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $6,023,000. Ulta Beauty makes up approximately 3.4% of Warther Private Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ULTA. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 56.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,538,533 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $614,568,000 after buying an additional 556,809 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 45,740.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 291,544 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $142,854,000 after acquiring an additional 290,908 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 86.5% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 342,547 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $136,451,000 after purchasing an additional 158,897 shares during the last quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the third quarter worth $39,945,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 74.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 221,882 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $88,630,000 after purchasing an additional 94,581 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ULTA shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $438.00 price target (down from $585.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $595.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, March 15th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $546.86.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $876,222.90. 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 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

NASDAQ ULTA traded up $4.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $401.59. The stock had a trading volume of 664,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 767,251. The firm's 50 day moving average is $470.29 and its 200 day moving average is $470.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.36. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a twelve month low of $368.02 and a twelve month high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.68 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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.