Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 562,155 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 72,004 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.21% of Ulta Beauty worth $244,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ULTA. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $538.00 to $526.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. B. Riley dropped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $430.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Argus lowered shares of Ulta Beauty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $427.17.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

NASDAQ ULTA traded up $2.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $395.81. 524,706 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,055,700. The company has a market capitalization of $17.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $309.01 and a 52-week high of $460.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $361.20 and its 200-day moving average is $383.45.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.13 by $1.33. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.08 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.