Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA Shares Sold by EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.

EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. reduced its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,407 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 189 shares during the quarter. Ulta Beauty accounts for 1.2% of EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $6,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ULTA. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 142.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

ULTA opened at $497.41 on Thursday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $309.01 and a fifty-two week high of $572.23. The company has a market capitalization of $22.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $530.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $495.46.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total value of $264,215.00. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Ulta Beauty from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $589.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.38.

Ulta Beauty 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.