Aurora Investment Counsel Sells 1,282 Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Aurora Investment Counsel cut its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,288 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,282 shares during the period. Ulta Beauty makes up 1.3% of Aurora Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $2,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 110.3% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,926 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,638,000 after acquiring an additional 5,207 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 49.5% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 148 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at about $493,000. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 72.4% in the first quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 817 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ULTA. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $590.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $650.00 to $653.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.38.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

ULTA stock opened at $523.72 on Tuesday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $572.23. The company has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $531.67 and a 200 day moving average of $472.27.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 48.78%. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total value of $264,215.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,195,837.09. This represents a 18.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.