Pensionfund Sabic Lowers Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Pensionfund Sabic reduced its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Pensionfund Sabic’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nvwm LLC boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nkcfo LLC boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Nkcfo LLC now owns 183 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

ULTA opened at $382.59 on Thursday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $368.02 and a 52-week high of $574.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $398.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $467.89.

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

Ulta Beauty announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ULTA. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays cut Ulta Beauty from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $612.00 to $434.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI decreased 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. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $507.30.

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.