WD Rutherford LLC Purchases 130 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

WD Rutherford LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. WD Rutherford LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 347.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 71,491 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,061,000 after buying an additional 55,508 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,810,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,442 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $113,620,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 27,037 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $406.39 on Friday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $368.02 and a 1-year high of $574.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $500.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $468.35.

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

Ulta Beauty announced that its board has approved a stock 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 buy up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ULTA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $665.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $556.52.

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.