Clearstead Trust LLC Cuts Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Clearstead Trust LLC decreased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 38.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 95 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 59 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $47,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 364.3% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7,300.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ULTA. Loop Capital raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, March 15th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $580.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $548.05.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $397.39. The company had a trading volume of 591,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 796,369. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $486.30 and its 200 day moving average is $470.17. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $368.02 and a fifty-two week high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.