Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 161,509 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 44,003 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.33% of Ulta Beauty worth $79,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 347.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 71,491 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $35,061,000 after purchasing an additional 55,508 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,442 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $113,620,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 64.3% in the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 10,171 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,984,000 after acquiring an additional 3,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 3rd quarter valued at about $879,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ULTA. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $595.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $665.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $571.95.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ULTA opened at $454.80 on Wednesday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a twelve month low of $368.02 and a twelve month high of $574.76. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $524.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $466.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.30.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of Ulta Beauty 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.