Meridian Management Co. Boosts Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Meridian Management Co. raised its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,847 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the quarter. Ulta Beauty comprises approximately 1.7% of Meridian Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Meridian Management Co.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $6,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ULTA. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 17.7% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 834 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Wambolt & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 424 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ULTA. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $605.00 target price (up previously from $580.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $590.00 price target for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One research 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.38.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $519.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $531.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $482.74. The stock has a market cap of $23.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.08. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1-year low of $309.01 and a 1-year high of $572.23.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 48.78% and a net margin of 10.31%.The company’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total transaction of $264,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,195,837.09. This represents a 18.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.