AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 121,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,634 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.25% of Ulta Beauty worth $46,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 83.3% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Vima LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 490.0% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 59 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

ULTA opened at $404.01 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $368.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $403.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.31. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52 week low of $318.17 and a 52 week high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.02 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the company’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 value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ULTA. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $507.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $375.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. B. Riley began coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.