2,848 Shares in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in 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. The institutional investor acquired 2,848 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,395,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 556,809 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 45,740.3% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 291,544 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $142,854,000 after acquiring an additional 290,908 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 86.5% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 342,547 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $136,451,000 after purchasing an additional 158,897 shares during the period. Scopus Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,945,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 74.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 221,882 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $88,630,000 after buying an additional 94,581 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ULTA. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $580.00 to $520.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $605.00 to $476.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Loop Capital raised Ulta Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $540.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James reduced 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 report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $612.00 to $434.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $539.55.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock traded up $1.73 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $403.41. 500,883 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 757,579. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a twelve month low of $368.02 and a twelve month high of $574.76. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $464.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $471.20. The company has a market cap of $19.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.36.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. Ulta Beauty's revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Ulta Beauty

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.