Symmetry Investments LP Decreases Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Symmetry Investments LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 92.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,091 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 12,777 shares during the period. Symmetry Investments LP’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Auxier Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter valued at $354,000. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 73.6% in the second quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,553 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,300,000 after acquiring an additional 3,626 shares during the period. Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda. bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter worth approximately $614,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.1% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,421 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 78.5% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 43,111 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $16,635,000 after purchasing an additional 18,962 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

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

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of ULTA opened at $402.01 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $368.01 and its 200 day moving average is $407.97. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $318.17 and a 12-month high of $574.76. The company has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.31.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $544.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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. Raymond James downgraded Ulta Beauty from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $500.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $375.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $425.29.

About Ulta Beauty

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.