Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 4,530 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 66.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,303 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,530 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the third quarter worth $226,000. Asio Capital LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 171.3% in the third quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 11,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,514,000 after buying an additional 7,324 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the third quarter worth $183,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 348.8% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 386 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Common Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the third quarter worth $5,157,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 3.2 %

ULTA opened at $370.58 on Monday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12 month low of $318.17 and a 12 month high of $574.76. The company has a market cap of $17.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $369.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $390.82.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.02 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ULTA. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $522.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $424.08.

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.