Duality Advisers LP Boosts Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Duality Advisers LP boosted its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 92.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,278 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,504 shares during the quarter. Duality Advisers LP's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $3,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nvwm LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,828 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nkcfo LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Nkcfo LLC now owns 183 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ULTA shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $425.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. Loop Capital raised Ulta Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $540.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $503.70.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ ULTA traded up $12.12 on Friday, hitting $412.94. 845,590 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 806,393. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52 week low of $368.02 and a 52 week high of $574.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $389.60 and a 200-day moving average of $457.29. The stock has a market cap of $19.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.19 by $0.28. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 58.06% and a net margin of 11.13%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.88 EPS. Ulta Beauty's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the 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 directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,643,412.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.