Forte Capital LLC ADV Decreases Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Forte Capital LLC ADV cut its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,887 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,421 shares during the period. Ulta Beauty accounts for about 2.1% of Forte Capital LLC ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $15,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 347.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 71,491 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,061,000 after purchasing an additional 55,508 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth about $1,810,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,442 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $113,620,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 27,037 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ULTA shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $438.00 price target (down previously from $585.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $665.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Loop Capital raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $595.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $548.05.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of ULTA traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $397.39. 591,398 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 796,369. The firm has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $486.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $468.89. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $368.02 and a 12-month high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.