Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 19,057 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 12.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 131,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 19,057 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $50,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ULTA. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,436 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $320,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 53.5% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 70,594 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $34,589,000 after buying an additional 24,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2,481.6% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 87,490 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,869,000 after acquiring an additional 84,101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ULTA. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $356.00 price objective (down previously from $404.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $507.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total value of $252,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

ULTA opened at $352.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $372.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $427.31. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a one year low of $318.17 and a one year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.47 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 58.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.02 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.