Amalgamated Bank Trims Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 19.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,587 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,536 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $5,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 13.1% during the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 4,456 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,780,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.0% during the third quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 2,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 8.2% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,815 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 7.5% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,147 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EFG Asset Management North America Corp. lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 4.5% during the third quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 8,152 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,257,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 in the last three months. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA traded down $13.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $386.50. 1,015,903 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 755,451. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $368.02 and a 12-month high of $574.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $452.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $471.72. The firm has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.36.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.42 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ULTA. Barclays cut shares of Ulta Beauty from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $612.00 to $434.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $565.00 to $475.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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 note on Tuesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $535.45.

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.

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