Liberty Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,415 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,199,935 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $520,587,000 after acquiring an additional 11,205 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at about $430,674,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 655,561 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $285,123,000 after acquiring an additional 9,291 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 562,155 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $244,498,000 after acquiring an additional 72,004 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at about $239,432,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ULTA has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $467.00 to $404.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $437.00 target price (up previously from $386.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ulta Beauty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $384.00 to $423.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $465.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total value of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This trade represents a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $462.43 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $402.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $394.80. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12 month low of $309.01 and a 12 month high of $491.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.09.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $6.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.73 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current 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.