Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Acquired by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 39.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 26,323 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,425 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $12,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nvwm LLC boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.3% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nkcfo LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Nkcfo LLC now owns 183 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 sale, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $378.33 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $445.34 and a 200-day moving average of $471.04. The company has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.36. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $368.02 and a 1 year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.43 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Loop Capital upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $580.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $535.45.

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.