Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Boosts Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $2,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 877 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Robbins Farley raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 5,868 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,875,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. abrdn plc raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 25,541 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,515,000 after buying an additional 5,788 shares during the period. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,410,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $410.55 on Thursday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a one year low of $368.02 and a one year high of $574.76. The company has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $505.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $468.65.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,222.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $595.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $556.52.

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.