Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Increases Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 104.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,795 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,272 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $13,812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 83.3% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Vima LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 490.0% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 59 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 Price Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $381.57 on Tuesday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $318.17 and a 1 year high of $574.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $369.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $417.39. The firm has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.31.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.47 by ($0.17). Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.02 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ULTA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $328.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $505.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $507.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $425.29.

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.