Natixis Advisors L.P. Acquires 24,608 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 53.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,594 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,608 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $34,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 24.5% in the third quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 127 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,820 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Phoenix Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Phoenix Wealth Advisors now owns 1,106 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ULTA shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $580.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $665.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $548.05.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $397.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $486.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $468.89. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $368.02 and a 1-year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The firm’s 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ulta Beauty 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.