Simplicity Wealth LLC Buys New Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 706 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ULTA. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 74.0% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 769 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 24.9% during the 1st quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 3,268 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,709,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Bfsg LLC grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 6,284 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,286,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth $1,746,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:ULTA traded down $3.50 on Wednesday, hitting $378.33. The company had a trading volume of 765,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,462. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $445.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $471.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.36. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52 week low of $368.02 and a 52 week high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.43 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James lowered 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. Barclays lowered Ulta Beauty from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $612.00 to $434.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $580.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $438.00 price target (down previously from $585.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $535.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $876,222.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 in the last ninety days. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by 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.