Berkshire Bank Cuts Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Berkshire Bank trimmed its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 6.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 537 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 38 shares during the quarter. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $207,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the first quarter worth $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 490.0% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 59 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock traded down $4.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $322.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 919,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,185. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a one year low of $320.79 and a one year high of $574.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $379.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $440.84. The stock has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.37.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.19 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 58.06%. Ulta Beauty’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on ULTA shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $438.00 to $412.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $350.00 to $325.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $394.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $497.61.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at $2,643,412.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

About Ulta Beauty

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.