Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Buys 2,258 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,258 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned 0.08% of Ulta Beauty worth $20,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ULTA. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 364.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 59.1% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $522.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $525.05 and its 200 day moving average is $461.76. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12 month low of $368.02 and a 12 month high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.68 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, December 1st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays raised their target price on Ulta Beauty from $583.00 to $612.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.70.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc operate specialty retail stores selling cosmetics, fragrance, haircare and skincare products, and related accessories and services in the United States. It offers broad assortment of branded and private label beauty products including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools; and salon services, including hair, skin, makeup, and brow services, as well as nail services.