Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Sold by Tower Research Capital LLC TRC

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lessened its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 48.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,185 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,036 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 151.5% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ULTA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Argus cut shares of Ulta Beauty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective 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, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $360.00 to $310.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $427.61.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ULTA stock traded down $1.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $384.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 135,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,010,960. The company has a 50 day moving average of $358.87 and a 200 day moving average of $382.90. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $309.01 and a 12-month high of $460.00. The stock has a market cap of $17.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company 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.