Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 812 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,728 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $2,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ULTA. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 120.2% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,448 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,079,000 after buying an additional 7,887 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 92.8% in the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 7,278 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,806,000 after acquiring an additional 3,504 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 71.7% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,868 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,412,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 89,799 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $46,954,000 after purchasing an additional 8,337 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA stock opened at $378.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $368.16 and a 200-day moving average of $414.31. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a one year low of $318.17 and a one year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,643,412.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on ULTA shares. B. Riley assumed coverage on Ulta Beauty in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “sell” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $438.00 to $412.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $435.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $328.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $385.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $425.29.

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.