GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases Shares of 186 Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 186 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $93,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ULTA. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 23,891 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,543,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 3rd quarter worth $215,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 15,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 14,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 117.3% in the 3rd quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 2,108 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 1,138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $665.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $656.00 to $635.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $548.05.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 0.9 %

ULTA stock opened at $410.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $497.74 and a 200-day moving average of $469.61. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12 month low of $368.02 and a 12 month high of $574.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.30.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS 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 company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.68 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the firm’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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company 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.