Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Buys New Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,380,000.

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

Insider Activity

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

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.2 %

ULTA opened at $395.04 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $389.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $458.12. The company has a market capitalization of $18.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.37. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $368.02 and a 1-year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.88 EPS. Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ULTA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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. Loop Capital upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $350.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.87.

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.