Meridian Management Co. Increases Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Meridian Management Co. lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,316 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 239 shares during the quarter. Ulta Beauty makes up about 1.2% of Meridian Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Meridian Management Co.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $4,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 83.3% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $356.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $328.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $420.71.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $380.54 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $378.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $379.82. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a one year low of $318.17 and a one year high of $574.76. The firm has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.33.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 54.02% and a net margin of 10.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.02 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.