SFE Investment Counsel Reduces Holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

SFE Investment Counsel decreased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 83.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 595 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,049 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,096 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 165.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 11,884 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,212,000 after acquiring an additional 7,403 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 10.3% during the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 288 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.1% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 147,895 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $77,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

ULTA stock traded up $8.96 on Friday, reaching $469.20. 425,933 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 703,513. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a one year low of $443.60 and a one year high of $714.97. The company has a market cap of $20.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $484.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $567.92.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $7.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $0.85. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 9.36%.The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.360-28.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley Financial reduced their price target on Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $700.00 to $630.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $635.00 to $700.00 in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $638.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.84, for a total value of $182,246.72. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,404 shares in the company, valued at $1,143,919.36. The trade was a 13.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.