Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 35.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 879 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 479 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 102 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Commerce Bank raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 478 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Eudaimonia Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Capital Advisors llc raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 525 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $402.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $368.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $407.97. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $318.17 and a 1 year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 54.02% and a net margin of 10.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ULTA. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $450.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $544.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $425.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the business’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 value of $252,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,643,412.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.