SFE Investment Counsel Trims Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

SFE Investment Counsel lowered its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 33.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,644 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,821 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $2,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,889 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,997,000. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,012,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 979.1% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 74,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $40,569,000 after purchasing an additional 67,325 shares during the period. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the third quarter worth about $1,008,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total value of $243,759.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,383 shares in the company, valued at $1,285,128.07. This trade represents a 15.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ULTA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays cut shares of Ulta Beauty from an “overweight” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $635.00 to $700.00 in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $674.23.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $492.14 on Thursday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52-week low of $402.50 and a 52-week high of $714.97. The company has a 50 day moving average of $550.87 and a 200 day moving average of $587.21. The company has a market capitalization of $21.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.89.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.46 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty 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.