Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 73.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,554 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 26,915 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $4,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 118.4% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 151.5% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $355.43 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $394.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $388.07. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a one year low of $318.17 and a one year high of $574.76. The company has a market cap of $16.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.69. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ULTA shares. B. Riley raised Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $430.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $410.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $459.22.

About Ulta Beauty

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.