Voya Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,611 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,077 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $11,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 23,106 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,911 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 291.2% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 156,297 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $67,978,000 after purchasing an additional 116,345 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,634 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,365,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,430 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $813,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ULTA opened at $386.44 on Tuesday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $309.01 and a 52-week high of $460.00. The company has a market capitalization of $17.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $358.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $382.90.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ULTA shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price 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. Bank of America decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. B. Riley decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $430.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Argus lowered Ulta Beauty from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $415.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $427.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.