American Century Companies Inc. Buys 4,436 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 6.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,601 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,436 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Ulta Beauty worth $28,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $601,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $263,192,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth approximately $870,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,323 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,898,000 after buying an additional 7,425 shares during the period. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $544.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $552.00 to $448.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $356.00 target price (down previously from $404.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $425.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 1.4 %

Ulta Beauty stock opened at $402.72 on Thursday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $318.17 and a 52-week high of $574.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $368.18 and its 200 day moving average is $410.00. The company has a market cap of $18.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a PEG 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 the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty 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.