Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 56.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,629 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,415 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 121.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 115 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 144 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was 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. This represents a 10.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $467.00 to $404.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $424.00.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of ULTA stock traded up $8.81 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $418.90. 195,335 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,049,356. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $372.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $385.86. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $309.01 and a 52-week high of $460.00.

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

Ulta Beauty Company 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.