Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Acquired by Sheets Smith Wealth Management

Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,072 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the period. Ulta Beauty makes up approximately 1.2% of Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $9,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.3% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 127 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,820 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phoenix Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.6% during the third quarter. Phoenix Wealth Advisors now owns 1,106 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on ULTA shares. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $438.00 price target (down from $585.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $595.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $548.05.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 0.0 %

Ulta Beauty stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $397.39. 591,398 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 796,369. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $486.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $470.17. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $368.02 and a fifty-two week high of $574.76. The firm has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.36.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.