National Bank of Canada FI Grows Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,392 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,619 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $7,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 83.3% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Vima LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 490.0% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 59 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth $31,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ULTA. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $450.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $552.00 to $448.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.74.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 3.8 %

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $381.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $369.46 and a 200-day moving average of $417.39. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52 week low of $318.17 and a 52 week high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. 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 posted $6.02 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the business’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 transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was 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 owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,643,412.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.