Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Down 2.9%

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) shares fell 2.9% on Monday . The company traded as low as $388.48 and last traded at $390.55. 452,474 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 940,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $402.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $507.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Ulta Beauty from $375.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $552.00 to $448.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. TD Cowen cut shares of Ulta Beauty from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $425.29.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 1.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $368.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $406.98.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly 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). Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 54.02% and a net margin of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.21 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

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

About Ulta Beauty

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.