Virtu Financial LLC Trims Holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Virtu Financial LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 9.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,384 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 341 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at about $263,192,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at about $176,753,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 177.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 407,347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $199,596,000 after acquiring an additional 260,740 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 210.4% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 271,550 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $141,988,000 after acquiring an additional 184,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 47.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 476,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $246,862,000 after acquiring an additional 153,727 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ULTA. Bank of America dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $435.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $450.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $507.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $425.29.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $402.72 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $368.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $410.00. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a twelve month low of $318.17 and a twelve month high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the business’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 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 accessible through this link. Also, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,643,412.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.