Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock Price Up 1.6%

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 1.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $405.40 and last traded at $403.30. Approximately 304,266 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 934,686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $397.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ULTA. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $450.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $375.00 to $345.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $435.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $485.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $552.00 to $448.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $425.29.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $368.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $410.00. The stock has a market cap of $18.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.31.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.47 by ($0.17). Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 54.02% and a net margin of 10.68%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.02 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the company'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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the company'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 $2,643,412.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.1% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 620,793 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $239,545,000 after buying an additional 76,721 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at about $263,192,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 47.7% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 476,027 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $246,862,000 after purchasing an additional 153,727 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 422,801 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $163,149,000 after purchasing an additional 24,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 357,503 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $186,933,000 after buying an additional 4,344 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.