Gradient Investments LLC Sells 133 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Gradient Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,592 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 59.4% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 9,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,567,000 after purchasing an additional 3,446 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 121,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $46,371,000 after purchasing an additional 12,634 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,387,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,501 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,824,000 after buying an additional 1,416 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $417.83 on Friday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a one year low of $318.17 and a one year high of $574.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $407.85 and a 200 day moving average of $385.62. The company has a market capitalization of $19.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.28.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.69. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ULTA. Raymond James decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $440.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ulta Beauty from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $500.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, B. Riley raised Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $459.22.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.