Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 165,902 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,735 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $90,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,353,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,926,979,000 after purchasing an additional 33,674 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 8.9% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 1,263,820 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $690,994,000 after buying an additional 103,540 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 33.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 840,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $459,479,000 after buying an additional 211,485 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 56,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 626,093 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $342,316,000 after acquiring an additional 43,458 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $535.72 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $665.60 and its 200-day moving average is $587.27. The company has a market capitalization of $23.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.82. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.36 and a fifty-two week high of $714.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.93 by $0.08. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 44.44%. The business had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $775.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, December 5th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $775.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $671.27.

More Ulta Beauty News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 top-line beat — net sales rose ~11.8% to about $3.9B, driven by comps and new stores, showing resilient demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Digital momentum and new channels: Ulta cites AI-driven personalization boosting e‑commerce and is launching a curated assortment on TikTok Shop to reach younger customers. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 outlook shows growth but slower cadence — management guided to mid-single-digit sales growth (roughly 6–7%) and provided an EPS range; the plan signals continued growth but a deceleration from FY25. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely keep positive ratings but are trimming price targets after the print — many firms reaffirm buy/overweight while lowering targets to reflect the more cautious margin/advertising outlook. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure from rising costs and higher SG&A — operating margin compressed as advertising, incentive compensation and strategic investments increased, squeezing EPS versus last year. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market disappointed by the forward profit signal — investors viewed the FY26 profit/same-store-sales targets and incremental spending as conservative or risk-increasing, triggering heavy selling and analyst target resets. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: High-volume selloff and volatile sentiment — the post-earnings move has driven large intraday volume and rapid target revisions, increasing short-term downside risk despite longer-term bullish arguments. Read More.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.