State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 700 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 4.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,253 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $5,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,857 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $93,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 56,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,698,000 after acquiring an additional 2,490 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 2,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 151,162 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $74,068,000 after purchasing an additional 27,139 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $371.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $373.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $429.22. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $318.17 and a 1 year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 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 company had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.88 EPS. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,643,412.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on ULTA shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Barclays cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $394.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $438.00 to $412.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $488.96.

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.