abrdn plc Boosts Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

abrdn plc grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 29.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,541 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,788 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned 0.05% of Ulta Beauty worth $12,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 56.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,538,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $614,568,000 after acquiring an additional 556,809 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 3.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 575,658 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $229,947,000 after acquiring an additional 21,828 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 570,913 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $228,051,000 after acquiring an additional 33,508 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 86.5% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 342,547 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $136,451,000 after acquiring an additional 158,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 15.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 293,126 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $117,089,000 after acquiring an additional 40,166 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $408.01 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.30. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $368.02 and a 12-month high of $574.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $502.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $468.22.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for 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%. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,222.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $438.00 price objective (down previously from $585.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $583.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $595.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $556.52.

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.