Diversified Trust Co Trims Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Diversified Trust Co cut its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 20.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,576 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $776,000. Scopus Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,945,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 31,791 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,700,000 after purchasing an additional 3,520 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,467 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 22,723 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of ULTA opened at $393.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.37. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $368.02 and a 12-month high of $574.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $391.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $461.93.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 58.06%. Ulta Beauty’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.88 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ULTA shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $394.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $544.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $605.00 to $476.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.87.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total value of $252,642.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.