National Pension Service Cuts Stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

National Pension Service lessened its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 68.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,858 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 73,695 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $15,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optimize Financial Inc boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 1,176 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 12.1% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 394 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 555 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 6,455 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,905,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of ULTA stock opened at $546.78 on Friday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a twelve month low of $443.60 and a twelve month high of $714.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $514.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $525.15. The stock has a market cap of $23.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.85.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.34% and a return on equity of 45.40%. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.78 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.700-29.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.94 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ULTA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $647.00 to $645.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $624.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 383 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.84, for a total transaction of $182,246.72. Following the sale, the director owned 2,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,143,919.36. The trade was a 13.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc is a specialty beauty retailer operating under the Ulta Beauty brand. The company sells a broad selection of cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrance, bath and body products, and beauty tools across a range of price points. Its merchandise includes both established brands and private-label products, as well as prestige, mass-market and professional beauty offerings.

In addition to retail sales, Ulta Beauty provides services through salon locations within many of its stores, including hair, skin and brow services.