Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 23.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 71,358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 21,566 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $39,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter valued at about $258,791,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 76.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 477,504 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $222,794,000 after purchasing an additional 207,084 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 1,597.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 158,132 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $86,459,000 after purchasing an additional 148,815 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the second quarter valued at approximately $62,170,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,997,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 3.4%

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $706.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $644.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $569.54. The company has a market capitalization of $31.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.85. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52-week low of $309.01 and a 52-week high of $707.25.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.61 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 46.33%. The company’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.14 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.200-25.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ULTA. B. Riley Financial restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $775.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $725.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $732.00 target price on Ulta Beauty in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.44.

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.