Strs Ohio lessened its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA – Free Report) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,282 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,298 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $28,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 231.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,744 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,372,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 48.9% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter valued at about $466,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,196,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,475 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,497,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ulta Beauty from a “strong sell” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $674.00 to $799.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $650.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $674.23.
Key Ulta Beauty News
Here are the key news stories impacting Ulta Beauty this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Ulta announced a strategic data-sharing collaboration with NielsenIQ to improve marketplace visibility and merchandising decisions — a capability that can help optimize assortment, promotions and vendor relationships. NIQ and Ulta Beauty Announce Strategic Data Sharing Collaboration
- Positive Sentiment: Ulta released its full 2026 sale calendar, giving investors more visibility into planned promotional cadence — this can help model sales/traffic timing and suggests management is actively driving demand through planned events. Ulta releases full 2026 sale calendar for beauty deals
- Positive Sentiment: New product arrivals and weekly merchandising updates (e.g., dozen+ “new arrivals” items) support traffic and basket growth — continual product refresh helps Ulta sustain relevance vs. mass retailers. 11 Best Ulta Beauty “New Arrivals” Hitting Shelves This Week
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst / media coverage notes Ulta is a trending stock and reviews valuation after recent pullbacks — useful for investors but not an immediate fundamental catalyst. Here is What to Know Beyond Why Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA) is a Trending Stock
- Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary noting recent modest outperformance or “lapping the market” provides sentiment context but is not a standalone driver. Ulta Beauty (ULTA) Laps the Stock Market: Here’s Why
- Negative Sentiment: Target and Ulta have ended their five?year in?store partnership. That reduces a non?store distribution channel and the convenience of linked rewards for Target shoppers — a near-term headwind to reach and incremental sales. Walmart makes in-store move to challenge Target
- Negative Sentiment: Walmart is ramping in-store beauty initiatives to compete with Target and specialty retailers, increasing competitive pressure on Ulta’s market share in mass channels. Walmart makes in-store move to challenge Target
Ulta Beauty Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $531.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $573.99 and a 200-day moving average of $587.43. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $386.00 and a fifty-two week high of $714.97.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.93 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 9.31%.Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.46 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.44 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty
In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total value of $243,759.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,383 shares in the company, valued at $1,285,128.07. This trade represents a 15.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.
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.
See Also
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