Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Grows Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,172 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 6,900 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned approximately 0.20% of Ulta Beauty worth $40,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 151.5% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ:ULTA traded up $8.19 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $385.93. 538,541 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,053,642. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $309.01 and a 12-month high of $460.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's fifty day moving average is $357.62 and its 200-day moving average is $382.22.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ULTA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $467.00 to $404.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ulta Beauty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $384.00 to $423.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $427.61.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total value of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.