Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Reduces Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC cut its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 53.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,475 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,674 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 33.6% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 544,072 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $284,484,000 after purchasing an additional 136,725 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $263,192,000. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 47.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 476,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $246,862,000 after purchasing an additional 153,727 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 357,503 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $186,933,000 after purchasing an additional 4,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at approximately $176,753,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of ULTA traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $370.30. The company had a trading volume of 490,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,039. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $373.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $429.22. The stock has a market cap of $17.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.37. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52 week low of $318.17 and a 52 week high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.19 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 58.06%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.88 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ULTA. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $522.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $438.00 to $412.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $565.00 to $475.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $480.22.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,643,412.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.