Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Given New $315.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $300.00 to $315.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ULTA. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, April 1st. Argus downgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $538.00 to $526.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $427.83.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA stock opened at $411.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $367.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $385.00. Ulta Beauty has a one year low of $309.01 and a one year high of $460.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,817,429.12. The trade was a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ULTA. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 145.6% in the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,730,000 after purchasing an additional 9,268 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.4% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 8,482 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,109,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 675 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 52.3% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,258 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.