Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Takes Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,024 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $542,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 7,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, May 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $498.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $350.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.87.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA stock traded down $1.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $394.48. The company had a trading volume of 56,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,078. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $368.02 and a 12-month high of $574.76. The company has a market capitalization of $18.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $389.65 and a 200-day moving average of $458.12.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.19 by $0.28. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 58.06% and a net margin of 11.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.76 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total value of $252,642.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at $2,643,412.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at $2,643,412.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.