Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Sold by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN lessened its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 351,176 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,264 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.72% of Ulta Beauty worth $172,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Balentine LLC lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 692 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 843 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Motco increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 51,163.6% in the fourth quarter. Motco now owns 16,917 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $8,289,000 after purchasing an additional 16,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,323 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $12,898,000 after acquiring an additional 7,425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ULTA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $350.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Raymond James cut their price target 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 cut shares of Ulta Beauty from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $612.00 to $434.00 in a report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $535.45.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Ulta Beauty stock traded down $3.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $378.33. 765,601 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 757,462. The company's fifty day moving average is $449.11 and its 200-day moving average is $471.69. The firm has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.36. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52 week low of $368.02 and a 52 week high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $6.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 2,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction 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 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.39% 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.