Swedbank AB Decreases Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Swedbank AB reduced its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 317,914 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,691 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.69% of Ulta Beauty worth $138,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,501 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 197.6% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,508,000 after buying an additional 4,316 shares during the period. Ted Buchan & Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter valued at approximately $551,000. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the second quarter worth $538,000. Finally, Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the second quarter worth $386,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA traded up $7.87 during trading on Thursday, hitting $418.53. 554,991 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 792,478. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $411.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $385.75. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $318.17 and a 1 year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.69. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $472.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $435.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $459.22.

Ulta Beauty 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.