Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Price Target Cut to $350.00

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) had its price target reduced by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $450.00 to $350.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 14.19% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ULTA. UBS Group increased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $556.52.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of ULTA stock traded down $11.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $407.90. The stock had a trading volume of 366,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 764,796. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $507.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $469.06. Ulta Beauty has a one year low of $368.02 and a one year high of $574.76. The firm has a market cap of $19.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’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 value of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 56.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,538,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $614,568,000 after buying an additional 556,809 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 3.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 575,658 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $229,947,000 after buying an additional 21,828 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 570,913 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $228,051,000 after buying an additional 33,508 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $263,192,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 177.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 407,347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $199,596,000 after buying an additional 260,740 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

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.