Mizuho Securities USA LLC Purchases 1,371 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 44.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,465 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ULTA. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,188,730 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $461,059,000 after buying an additional 10,153 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 450,239 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $186,912,000 after acquiring an additional 74,013 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 3,246.2% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 346,262 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $134,737,000 after acquiring an additional 335,914 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,938 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $139,151,000 after purchasing an additional 12,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 189,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,664,000 after purchasing an additional 20,613 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 4.4 %

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $366.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50 day moving average is $376.82 and its 200-day moving average is $386.57. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $309.01 and a 12-month high of $529.67.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $360.00 to $310.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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 note on Friday, March 14th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $415.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, B. Riley cut their price target 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 assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $427.13.

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.