Impax Asset Management Group plc Raises Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 103,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,637 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $44,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 240 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 63.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,468 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,114 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after buying an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 10,200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,969,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 1.4 %

ULTA stock opened at $361.54 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $408.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $387.54. The company has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.28. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $318.17 and a fifty-two week high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.69. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.07 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ulta Beauty from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $457.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $459.22.

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.