Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA Shares Sold by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 34.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,391 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,234 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 142.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 178.4% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter worth $52,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total value of $264,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,195,837.09. This trade represents a 18.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ULTA shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $589.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $590.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Ulta Beauty from $595.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $605.00 price objective (up previously from $580.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.38.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of ULTA opened at $522.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50 day moving average is $530.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $490.84. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52-week low of $309.01 and a 52-week high of $572.23.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 48.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.