Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC lowered its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 44.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,472 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 10,910 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $5,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 913.9% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 730 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 45.7% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 1,594 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 31,587 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,291,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 451.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 149 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 100.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,353 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,029,000 after buying an additional 5,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $359.36 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $369.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $385.89. The company has a market capitalization of $16.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $309.01 and a 1-year high of $460.00.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ULTA. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $364.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $538.00 to $526.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $360.00 to $310.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ulta Beauty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $384.00 to $423.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $427.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,429.12. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.