Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Has $18.83 Million Stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 31,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,825 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $18,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at $430,963,000. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,012,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,557,000 after buying an additional 3,744 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at $8,009,000. Finally, Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,605,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total value of $243,759.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,383 shares in the company, valued at $1,285,128.07. This trade represents a 15.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $463.68 on Wednesday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 12-month low of $452.05 and a 12-month high of $714.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $513.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $582.33.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $7.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $0.85. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 9.36%.The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.360-28.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ULTA. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $799.00 to $731.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $741.00 to $652.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $650.00 to $585.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $725.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $644.91.

Ulta Beauty 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.