Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Up 2.1%

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) rose 2.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $388.84 and last traded at $386.46. Approximately 193,317 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 930,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $378.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $450.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $425.29.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 3.5 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $368.16 and a 200 day moving average of $412.25. The firm has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.31.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.47 by ($0.17). Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 54.02% and a net margin of 10.68%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,643,412.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 620,793 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $239,545,000 after buying an additional 76,721 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $263,192,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 47.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 476,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $246,862,000 after purchasing an additional 153,727 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 422,801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $163,149,000 after purchasing an additional 24,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 357,503 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $186,933,000 after purchasing an additional 4,344 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.