Nebula Research & Development LLC Acquires New Shares in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,506 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,830,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,199,935 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $520,587,000 after acquiring an additional 11,205 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $430,674,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth $239,432,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 466,584 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $202,936,000 after acquiring an additional 12,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 10,336.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 459,110 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $199,681,000 after purchasing an additional 454,711 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $388.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 214,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,007,973. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $309.01 and a fifty-two week high of $460.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $359.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $382.95.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.13 by $1.33. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.47 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on ULTA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $384.00 to $423.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $445.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $427.17.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.