PGGM Investments Sells 11,692 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

PGGM Investments lessened its holdings in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 75.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,869 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 11,692 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 56,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,698,000 after acquiring an additional 2,490 shares during the period. Dohj LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth $419,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth $446,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 6,102 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,990,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, WD Rutherford LLC grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,212,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $406.39 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $19.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.30. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $368.02 and a 1-year high of $574.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $500.18 and its 200 day moving average is $469.42.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.55 billion for 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%. Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.68 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $556.52.

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.