ING Groep NV Makes New $7.33 Million Investment in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 13,413 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,334,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ULTA. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 581,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $317,938,000 after purchasing an additional 36,456 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,889 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,204,000 after buying an additional 2,121 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter worth $71,997,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 90.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,647 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $20,037,000 after acquiring an additional 17,365 shares during the period. Finally, Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter valued at about $3,809,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 2.3%

ULTA stock opened at $667.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $638.81 and a 200-day moving average of $565.10. The company has a market cap of $29.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.85. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 12-month low of $309.01 and a 12-month high of $700.81.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 46.33% and a net margin of 9.93%.Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.14 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.200-25.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ULTA. Zacks Research cut shares of Ulta Beauty from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Ulta Beauty from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $605.00 to $790.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $680.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.44.

Ulta Beauty Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc (NASDAQ: ULTA) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer’s product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.