Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 20.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,290 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 9,247 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.07% of Ulta Beauty worth $13,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 83.3% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 151.5% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 118.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ULTA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $435.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $335.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $442.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $439.30.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of ULTA traded up $4.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $430.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,446,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 982,076. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.32. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $318.17 and a 52-week high of $574.76. The company's 50-day moving average is $384.31 and its 200-day moving average is $379.37.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.69. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.