Ulta Beauty is a retail company that specializes in beauty products. Recently, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. reduced its position in Ulta Beauty by 10.7%. The company now owns 2,229 shares of Ulta Beauty’s stock after selling 267 shares during the quarter. The value of these shares is $1,046,000.
There were other changes in positions of institutional investors as well. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter valued at $425,000. Vanguard Group Inc. also increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 0.7% during the same period. It now owns 5,886,434 shares of Ulta Beauty’s stock valued at $2,344,096,000 after purchasing an additional 40,190 shares. Baird Financial Group Inc. and Loomis Sayles & Co. L P also increased their positions in Ulta Beauty by 2.8% and 38.6%, respectively, during the first quarter.
Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 59.1% during the first quarter. The bank now owns 70 shares of Ulta Beauty’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Around 90.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Ulta Beauty’s current market capitalization is $27.39 billion, and its stock opened at $545.67 on Friday. The P/E ratio of the company is 22.72, and the P/E/G ratio is 1.73. The beta of the company is 1.30, and its 50-day moving average is $519.95, while its 200-day moving average is $466.37.
In March 2017, Ulta Beauty released its quarterly earnings data. The company had a net margin of 12.17% and a return on equity of 67.19%. The 18.2% increase in revenue over the same period in the previous year was also encouraging for shareholders. Research analysts expect Ulta Beauty to post earnings per share of $25.21 for the current year.
Several equities research analysts have provided their ratings for Ulta Beauty. Credit Suisse Group raised its price objective on Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in March 2017. Morgan Stanley also lifted its price objective on Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in the same month.
The Goldman Sachs Group reduced its target price for Ulta Beauty from $511.00 to $508.00 in December 2016, and Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating with a $575.00 target price for shares of Ulta Beauty in March 2017. Wells Fargo & Company gave Ulta Beauty an “underweight” rating and lowered its price objective for the stock from $450.00 to $400.00 on January 6th, 2017. Overall, analysts have given the stock a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $561.00.
Insiders have also made some notable moves regarding the company’s stock. Director Mike C. Smith sold 400 shares of Ulta Beauty’s stock in a transaction that occurred on March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.63, for a total transaction of $208,652.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,531 shares of Ulta Beauty’s stock, valued at $798,615.53. In another transaction on the same day, the director sold 400 shares of the stock at an average price of $521.63, totaling to $208,652.00. Following this sale, the director has 1,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $798,615.53. Jodi J. Caro, an insider, sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.65, for a total value of $2,279,925.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,231 shares of Ulta Beauty’s stock, valued at approximately $2,650,286.15. 2.00% of the company’s stock is currently owned by insiders.
Ulta Beauty is headquartered in Bolingbrook, IL and was founded on January 9th, 1990. The company has one reportable segment that includes retail stores, salon services, and e-commerce. Its product range includes makeup, skin care, tools and brushes, fragrance, and bath and body.
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