Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Raises Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 508.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,906 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 16,635 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $7,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 620,793 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $239,545,000 after acquiring an additional 76,721 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter valued at $263,192,000. Boston Partners increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 47.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 476,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $246,862,000 after buying an additional 153,727 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 357,503 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $186,933,000 after buying an additional 4,344 shares during the period. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at $176,753,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $378.34 on Friday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $318.17 and a 52-week high of $574.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $368.16 and a 200-day moving average of $414.31. The company has a market capitalization of $17.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of Ulta Beauty 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 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 in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ULTA shares. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $450.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $522.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $507.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $425.29.

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.