Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 243,515 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 264,809 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.51% of Ulta Beauty worth $93,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 41.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 154,095 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $59,461,000 after buying an additional 45,460 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 312.7% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 149.0% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 11,183 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,315,000 after buying an additional 6,691 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,586,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,779 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,643,412.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,643,412.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ULTA has been the subject of several recent research reports. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $435.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $450.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $356.00 price target (down previously from $404.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two equities research 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 MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $425.29.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $402.72 on Thursday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $318.17 and a 12-month high of $574.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $368.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $410.00.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. 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 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.