Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Up 2.1%

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) shares rose 2.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $388.84 and last traded at $386.46. Approximately 193,317 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 930,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $378.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $328.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. B. Riley assumed coverage on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $385.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $500.00 to $450.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $375.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $425.29.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $368.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $410.05. The company has a market cap of $18.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.31.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.47 by ($0.17). Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 54.02% and a net margin of 10.68%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.02 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $601,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 7,540 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at about $263,192,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at about $870,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,323 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,898,000 after purchasing an additional 7,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% 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.