Calamos Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Calamos Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,633 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 387 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Ulta Beauty worth $14,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 1,260 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 2,852 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.9% in the first quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 491 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ULTA. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $561.29.

Insider Activity

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ulta Beauty news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA stock traded down $11.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $413.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 256,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 761,585. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $514.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $467.55. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $368.02 and a 1-year high of $574.76. The company has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.30.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.74 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits 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 shares are undervalued.

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.