National Pension Service Sells 1,278 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

National Pension Service trimmed its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,284 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,278 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.17% of Ulta Beauty worth $34,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jensen Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,330 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the third quarter worth $793,000. Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 16,014 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $6,231,000 after buying an additional 3,791 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the third quarter valued at about $4,480,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA traded down $2.47 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $346.39. 714,067 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 888,997. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $318.17 and a 52-week high of $574.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $401.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $388.82.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.69. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on ULTA shares. William Blair lowered Ulta Beauty from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised Ulta Beauty from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $459.22.

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.