Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock Position Raised by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,650 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $10,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ULTA. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 106.7% in the 1st quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,523,936.66. The transaction 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 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

ULTA opened at $513.52 on Thursday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $368.02 and a 52-week high of $574.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $524.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.40.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ULTA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Ulta Beauty from $587.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, December 1st. Argus lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.81.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc operate specialty retail stores selling cosmetics, fragrance, haircare and skincare products, and related accessories and services in the United States. It offers broad assortment of branded and private label beauty products including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools; and salon services, including hair, skin, makeup, and brow services, as well as nail services.