Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Grows Stock Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 59.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,152 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,174 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,376,848 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,253,047,000 after buying an additional 23,434 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,975,260 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,079,973,000 after purchasing an additional 44,182 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 1,263,820 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $690,994,000 after purchasing an additional 103,540 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 840,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $459,479,000 after purchasing an additional 211,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 626,093 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $342,316,000 after purchasing an additional 43,458 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total transaction of $243,759.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,285,128.07. This represents a 15.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Ulta Beauty

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

• Positive Sentiment: Ulta Beauty extended its partnership with Uber Eats, adding more than 1,500 stores to the delivery platform. The move expands Ulta’s omnichannel reach, gives customers same-day or scheduled delivery of beauty and wellness products, and could help drive incremental sales and higher convenience-driven demand. Article: Uber Eats and Ulta Beauty Team Up to Deliver Beauty Essentials Nationwide
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage around the Sephora vs. Ulta spring sales highlighted top-performing brands, which may indicate Ulta continues to attract strong consumer interest during key promotional periods. Article: Which Brands Won the Sephora vs. Ulta Beauty Spring Sales?
• Neutral Sentiment: Ulta Beauty was recognized at the 2026 ChicagoCIO ORBIE Awards, a reputational positive for leadership and technology teams, but the announcement is unlikely to materially move the stock on its own. Article: Top Technology Executives Recognized at the 2026 ChicagoCIO ORBIE Awards
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles reiterated that ULTA has been trading lower recently and noted a bigger-than-market decline in the prior session, but these pieces were mostly descriptive rather than offering a new fundamental catalyst. Article: Ulta Beauty (ULTA) Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $521.46 on Friday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 12 month low of $386.00 and a 12 month high of $714.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $565.09 and a 200-day moving average of $587.65. The company has a market cap of $22.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.89.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.08. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.46 EPS. The company’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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $685.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $635.00 to $700.00 in a report on Monday, April 20th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday, March 9th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $674.23.

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.