Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA is Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,704 shares during the quarter. Ulta Beauty makes up 5.3% of Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC owned 0.23% of Ulta Beauty worth $57,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 581,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $317,938,000 after acquiring an additional 36,456 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.6% in the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,889 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the third quarter valued at about $71,997,000. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,012,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 90.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,647 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,037,000 after purchasing an additional 17,365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ULTA has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $610.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday. Evercore raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $775.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $671.27.

Ulta Beauty News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ulta Beauty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 top-line beat — net sales rose ~11.8% to about $3.9B, driven by comps and new stores, showing resilient demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Digital momentum and new channels: Ulta cites AI-driven personalization boosting e‑commerce and is launching a curated assortment on TikTok Shop to reach younger customers. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 outlook shows growth but slower cadence — management guided to mid-single-digit sales growth (roughly 6–7%) and provided an EPS range; the plan signals continued growth but a deceleration from FY25. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely keep positive ratings but are trimming price targets after the print — many firms reaffirm buy/overweight while lowering targets to reflect the more cautious margin/advertising outlook. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure from rising costs and higher SG&A — operating margin compressed as advertising, incentive compensation and strategic investments increased, squeezing EPS versus last year. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market disappointed by the forward profit signal — investors viewed the FY26 profit/same-store-sales targets and incremental spending as conservative or risk-increasing, triggering heavy selling and analyst target resets. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: High-volume selloff and volatile sentiment — the post-earnings move has driven large intraday volume and rapid target revisions, increasing short-term downside risk despite longer-term bullish arguments. Read More.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $535.72 on Friday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.36 and a 1 year high of $714.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $665.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $586.85. The company has a market capitalization of $23.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.82.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.93 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 44.44%. Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.46 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc (NASDAQ: ULTA) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer’s product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.