Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $27.70 Million Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,490 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.12% of Ulta Beauty worth $27,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 364.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. Loop Capital raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $548.05.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 value of $263,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $402.11 on Thursday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $368.02 and a 1-year high of $574.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $492.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $469.32. The company has a market cap of $19.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.36.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during 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%. Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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.