Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 26.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 55,371 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 19,873 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $30,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 107.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 142.9% during the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $700.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $606.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $732.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.44.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $690.37 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $627.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $560.33. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 12-month low of $309.01 and a 12-month high of $695.34. The company has a market cap of $30.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.85.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 46.33%. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.14 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.200-25.500 EPS. Analysts predict that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty 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.