Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Has $7.27 Million Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc raised its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,832 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $7,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 56.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,538,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $614,568,000 after buying an additional 556,809 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 45,740.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 291,544 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $142,854,000 after buying an additional 290,908 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 86.5% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 342,547 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $136,451,000 after purchasing an additional 158,897 shares in the last quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,945,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 74.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 221,882 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $88,630,000 after purchasing an additional 94,581 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ULTA. Loop Capital upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $561.29.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 valued at $12,920,326. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $419.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $507.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $469.06. 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 data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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 program on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.