Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 73.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,553 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,626 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $3,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda. bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the second quarter worth approximately $614,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,421 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 78.5% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 43,111 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $16,635,000 after purchasing an additional 18,962 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 35.8% during the second quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,887,000 after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Investment Advisors lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 2.5% during the second quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 1,491 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $402.01 on Friday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $318.17 and a 12-month high of $574.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $368.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $408.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.31.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, 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 transaction of $39,008.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on ULTA shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $385.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $375.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $522.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $505.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $425.29.

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.