Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Buys 168 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,755 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ULTA. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 14,832 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,268,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 27,037 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 81.9% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 4,446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,178,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the period. Finally, Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,849,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 2.7 %

Ulta Beauty stock traded down $11.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $407.98. The stock had a trading volume of 414,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 765,433. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $507.45 and its 200 day moving average is $469.06. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a one year low of $368.02 and a one year high of $574.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.30.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $438.00 price target (down previously from $585.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $580.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $350.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $656.00 to $635.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $556.52.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.