Motco Cuts Stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Motco lessened its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 956 shares during the quarter. Ulta Beauty accounts for 1.1% of Motco’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Motco’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $11,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ULTA. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 654,598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $306,234,000 after acquiring an additional 56,063 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 5.4% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 582,635 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,568,000 after purchasing an additional 30,100 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.7% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 581,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $317,938,000 after purchasing an additional 36,456 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter worth $258,791,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 76.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 477,504 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $222,794,000 after purchasing an additional 207,084 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ULTA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $647.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ulta Beauty from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price target (up previously from $610.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Oppenheimer set a $675.00 price target on Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $581.92.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $620.04 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.85. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a one year low of $309.01 and a one year high of $622.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $555.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $528.45.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 46.33% and a net margin of 9.93%.Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.14 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.200-25.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc (NASDAQ: ULTA) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer’s product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.