RNC Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

RNC Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,546 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $5,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bar Harbor Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 2,616 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 139,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $68,345,000 after purchasing an additional 17,011 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth $280,000. HBW Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth $310,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 41,168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,172,000 after acquiring an additional 2,258 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ULTA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.81.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

ULTA opened at $513.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50-day moving average is $524.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $461.40. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $368.02 and a 1 year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.94 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc operate specialty retail stores selling cosmetics, fragrance, haircare and skincare products, and related accessories and services in the United States. It offers broad assortment of branded and private label beauty products including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools; and salon services, including hair, skin, makeup, and brow services, as well as nail services.