National Pension Service Sells 73 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

National Pension Service decreased its holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,562 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 73 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $30,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 2.6% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 8,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,254,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 18,829 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,911,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,968 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $11,272,000 after buying an additional 1,552 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the third quarter worth $1,181,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 4.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 627 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $393.26 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $377.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $380.63. The company has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.33. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a one year low of $318.17 and a one year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.02 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $385.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $390.00 to $380.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $420.71.

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.