Westpac Banking Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Westpac Banking Corp raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 1,418.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,734 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,027 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $5,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 142.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 178.4% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ULTA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $650.00 to $653.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.38.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total transaction of $264,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,195,837.09. This represents a 18.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $529.34 on Friday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52 week low of $309.01 and a 52 week high of $572.23. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $531.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $493.15. The firm has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.05.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 48.78%. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.30 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current year.

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.