Bfsg LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 53.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,258 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,167 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $3,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 364.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $438.00 price target (down from $585.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $556.52.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA traded down $4.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $406.01. 142,202 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 763,270. The company has a market cap of $19.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $505.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $468.65. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12 month low of $368.02 and a 12 month high of $574.76.

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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,222.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.