Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Buys 116,345 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 291.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 156,297 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 116,345 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.34% of Ulta Beauty worth $67,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 151.5% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This trade represents a 10.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $405.00 to $365.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $427.61.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.2 %

Ulta Beauty stock opened at $377.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $309.01 and a 12-month high of $460.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $357.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $382.22.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.13 by $1.33. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty 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.