Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Has $3.09 Million Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,915 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $3,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Vima LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 490.0% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 59 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $625.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $507.30.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

ULTA stock traded up $5.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $387.69. The company had a trading volume of 965,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 811,194. The company has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.36. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52 week low of $368.02 and a 52 week high of $574.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $405.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $469.91.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.19 by $0.28. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 58.06%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.76 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.