Romano Brothers AND Company Increases Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Romano Brothers AND Company boosted its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,922 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $385.87 on Friday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $368.02 and a fifty-two week high of $574.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $392.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $462.92. The stock has a market cap of $18.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.36.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.19 by $0.28. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 58.06% and a net margin of 11.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.76 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total value of $252,642.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ULTA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $544.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $350.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.87.

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.