Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Given New $425.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Citigroup from $365.00 to $425.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Citigroup's price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.51% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $467.00 to $404.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $465.00 price objective (up previously from $435.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $424.25.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 0.9%

Ulta Beauty stock traded down $3.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $406.67. The stock had a trading volume of 129,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,047,851. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $376.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $386.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.06. Ulta Beauty has a 12-month low of $309.01 and a 12-month high of $460.00.

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. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity 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 value of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 128.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,225,023 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $449,021,000 after buying an additional 688,267 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 0.9% in 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 last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at $430,674,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 931,557 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $341,453,000 after purchasing an additional 366,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 81.7% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 913,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $334,871,000 after purchasing an additional 410,900 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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