Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 51,831 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 59.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,218 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 51,831 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $13,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Choreo LLC grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 71.7% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,868 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 92.8% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 7,278 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,806,000 after purchasing an additional 3,504 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 10.2% during the first 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 during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter valued at $19,136,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 5.3% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,778 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 1.7 %

Ulta Beauty stock opened at $373.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.32. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $318.17 and a 12-month high of $574.76. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $376.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $384.10.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its 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). Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.07 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $426.00 to $424.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $507.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $420.71.

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.