Simmons Bank Invests $1.75 Million in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Simmons Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,490 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,747,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ULTA. Chase Investment Counsel Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,556,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Winslow Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 0.9% during the third quarter. Winslow Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,118 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $6,661,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Management Co. lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 2.0% in the third quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 12,316 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,792,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 2,683.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 334 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 111,909 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $43,546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,687 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $382.77. The stock had a trading volume of 694,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 960,415. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $318.17 and a 52-week high of $574.76. The firm has a market cap of $18.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.33. The business's fifty day moving average is $379.73 and its 200 day moving average is $379.65.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.02 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $426.00 to $424.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. B. Riley initiated coverage on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ulta Beauty from $375.00 to $345.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Ulta Beauty from $522.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $420.71.

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.