LGT Group Foundation Has $15.51 Million Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

LGT Group Foundation raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,867 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,765 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $15,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth about $320,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 7,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,436 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 8,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,375,000 after purchasing an additional 3,874 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

ULTA stock traded down $4.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $397.67. The company had a trading volume of 176,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 759,886. The firm has a market cap of $19.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.36. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12 month low of $368.02 and a 12 month high of $574.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $492.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $469.32.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. 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 firm posted $6.68 EPS. Ulta Beauty’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of 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 available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 accessible through 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 value of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, 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 valued at $12,920,326 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ULTA. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $595.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $665.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $548.05.

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.