8,456 Shares in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Bought by Channing Capital Management LLC

Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 8,456 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,143,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 347.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 71,491 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,061,000 after acquiring an additional 55,508 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,810,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,442 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $113,620,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 27,037 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Ulta Beauty from $665.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $656.00 to $635.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $548.05.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326 over the last three months. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

NASDAQ ULTA traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $395.90. The stock had a trading volume of 752,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 762,714. The stock has a market cap of $18.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.36. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $368.02 and a 1 year high of $574.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $486.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $470.17.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ulta Beauty 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.