Simplicity Solutions LLC Sells 31 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Simplicity Solutions LLC lessened its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 664 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 31 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,204 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $807,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Alpha Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth $246,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 80.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at $5,523,936.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at $5,523,936.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $413.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.30. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $368.02 and a fifty-two week high of $574.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $511.83 and a 200-day moving average of $467.62.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.74 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $583.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $561.29.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.