Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $2,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 364.3% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 7,300.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now 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 available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $350.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Loop Capital raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $556.52.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

ULTA stock opened at $410.55 on Thursday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a one year low of $368.02 and a one year high of $574.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $505.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $468.65. The company has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.30.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.