Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. cut its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,578 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 251 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 364.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $442.32 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $520.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $467.73. The firm has a market cap of $21.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.30. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $368.02 and a fifty-two week high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.74 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors 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 purchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ULTA has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $583.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $610.00 to $585.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’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 approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’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 approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ulta Beauty 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.