Patten & Patten Inc. TN Decreases Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Patten & Patten Inc. TN reduced its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,460 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,483 shares during the quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 9.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 654,598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $306,234,000 after acquiring an additional 56,063 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 5.4% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 582,635 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,568,000 after purchasing an additional 30,100 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 581,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $317,938,000 after purchasing an additional 36,456 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth $258,791,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 76.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 477,504 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $222,794,000 after buying an additional 207,084 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Ulta Beauty

Here are the key news stories impacting Ulta Beauty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expansion into the Middle East: Ulta announced its first UAE store at Mall of the Emirates (opening Jan. 29) in partnership with franchise operator Alshaya, building on a November Kuwait debut — a move that diversifies revenue and uses a partner-led model to limit capex. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism: TD Cowen raised Ulta’s price target to $775, signaling bullish analyst sentiment that can support the stock as investors re-rate long-term growth expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: New retail concepts: Ulta is expanding wellness-focused shop‑in‑shop boutiques, aligning with consumer wellness trends and opening new margin and traffic drivers within stores. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strong consumer demand: Tickets for Ulta Beauty World sold out in minutes, showing high brand engagement and the power of experiential marketing to drive loyalty and future spend. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings: Ulta is about to report Q4 results; previews note expectations of weaker EPS, so the report (and company guidance) will be the immediate catalyst to confirm whether growth and margin momentum continue. Monitor the release for actual versus expected numbers. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: PR/backlash risk from event execution: While demand was strong, rapid sell-outs and ticketing issues have led to customer disappointment and negative headlines — a short-term reputational risk that could draw management time and attention and may pressure sentiment if unresolved. Read More. Read More.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of ULTA opened at $686.12 on Monday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52 week low of $309.01 and a 52 week high of $695.34. The firm has a market cap of $30.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $598.92 and a 200-day moving average of $548.91.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 46.33% and a net margin of 9.93%.The business’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.14 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.200-25.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ULTA shares. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, December 5th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $620.04.

Ulta Beauty Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc (NASDAQ: ULTA) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer’s product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.