Duality Advisers LP Boosts Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Duality Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 92.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,278 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,504 shares during the quarter. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $3,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 120.2% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,448 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,079,000 after buying an additional 7,887 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 347.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 71,491 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,061,000 after purchasing an additional 55,508 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,810,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 27,037 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,023,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at $2,643,412.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ULTA. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $595.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $565.00 to $475.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.70.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 2.6 %

ULTA stock traded up $10.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $411.39. The stock had a trading volume of 487,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,701. The company has a market cap of $19.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.37. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $368.02 and a 52-week high of $574.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $389.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $457.29.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.19 by $0.28. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 58.06% and a net margin of 11.13%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.76 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.