USS Investment Management Ltd Trims Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 27.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,152 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,321 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $4,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 115 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 213.7% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $410.39 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $376.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $386.37. The company has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.06. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $309.01 and a 1-year high of $460.00.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.13 by $1.33. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ULTA shares. B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $430.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $400.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Argus lowered shares of Ulta Beauty from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $415.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $423.33.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,817,429.12. This trade represents a 10.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.