Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Bought by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,709 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,788 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.14% of Ulta Beauty worth $28,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ULTA. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 199.5% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,646 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,021,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Buckhead Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 12,088 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $5,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $348,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on ULTA. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $360.00 to $310.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $427.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA traded down $0.93 on Wednesday, hitting $377.74. 649,535 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,054,255. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12 month low of $309.01 and a 12 month high of $460.00. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $357.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $382.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.13 by $1.33. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.08 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.