Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $63.28 Million Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lessened its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,019 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,494 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Ulta Beauty worth $63,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ULTA. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the third quarter valued at approximately $776,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 12.5% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 31,791 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $12,700,000 after acquiring an additional 3,520 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 9.4% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,467 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,184,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 8.5% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 22,723 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $9,077,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 816.0% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 2,986 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,660 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $350.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $625.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $503.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $390.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 550,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 735,127. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12 month low of $368.02 and a 12 month high of $574.76. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $390.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $459.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.37.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.19 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 58.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.88 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.