Wedbush Securities Inc. Has $3.24 Million Holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Wedbush Securities Inc. lessened its position in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,918 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 131 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $3,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 167.8% in the second quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 4,513 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $395,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the second quarter worth $306,000. Finally, waypoint wealth counsel acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the second quarter worth $246,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $517.79 on Friday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $572.23. The company has a market capitalization of $23.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $530.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $487.40.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results 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 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on ULTA shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Ulta Beauty in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $590.00 price target for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,195,837.09. This represents a 18.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.