Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Purchases 2,105 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,421 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,105 shares during the quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $7,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ULTA. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,199,935 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $520,587,000 after buying an additional 11,205 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter valued at about $430,674,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 655,561 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $285,123,000 after purchasing an additional 9,291 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 562,155 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $244,498,000 after purchasing an additional 72,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $239,432,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total value of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $411.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.06. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $309.01 and a 12-month high of $460.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $369.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $385.22.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ULTA shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $384.00 to $423.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays decreased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $445.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Argus lowered Ulta Beauty from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $426.08.

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.