Voya Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,611 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,077 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Ulta Beauty worth $11,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 199.5% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,646 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,021,000 after buying an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,663,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 12,088 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $5,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth approximately $348,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.7 %

ULTA traded down $2.71 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $392.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 675,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,054,303. The stock's 50-day moving average is $360.02 and its 200-day moving average is $383.04. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $460.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm 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 company's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on ULTA shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $415.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. 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. Barclays dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $445.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $405.00 to $365.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, B. Riley cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $430.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" 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 thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $427.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This trade represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

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.