AMI Asset Management Corp Boosts Stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

AMI Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 111,337 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,865 shares during the period. Ulta Beauty makes up 3.0% of AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $52,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 112.4% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 89,722 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $41,974,000 after acquiring an additional 47,486 shares in the last quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the second quarter worth about $1,156,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 103.4% during the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 120 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the second quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 15.9% in the second quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total value of $264,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,195,837.09. The trade was a 18.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $650.00 price objective on Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, August 29th. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.20.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $556.04 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $521.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $453.98. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1-year low of $309.01 and a 1-year high of $559.41. The company has a market cap of $24.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.08.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.03 by $0.75. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 48.78% and a net margin of 10.31%.The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Ulta Beauty

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.