HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 3.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 59,023 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,155 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $26,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $430,963,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 42.7% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 6,996 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,233,000 after purchasing an additional 2,093 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 97.3% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 35,739 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $18,681,000 after purchasing an additional 17,625 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter valued at $3,024,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 2,704.0% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 79,465 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $48,077,000 after buying an additional 76,631 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.84, for a total value of $182,246.72. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,404 shares in the company, valued at $1,143,919.36. This represents a 13.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $549.23 on Wednesday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52-week low of $443.60 and a 52-week high of $714.97. The firm has a market cap of $23.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $509.19 and its 200 day moving average is $527.10.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $0.33. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 45.40% and a net margin of 9.34%.The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.700-29.000 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ULTA. Barclays lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $647.00 to $645.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $700.00 to $630.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $560.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $799.00 to $731.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $624.57.

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.