Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Acquires 10,744 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 110,211 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 10,744 shares during the period. Ulta Beauty comprises approximately 4.4% of Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $44,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,199,935 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $520,587,000 after acquiring an additional 11,205 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth about $239,432,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 450,239 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $186,912,000 after purchasing an additional 74,013 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,938 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $139,151,000 after buying an additional 12,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summitry LLC grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 216,671 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $94,237,000 after buying an additional 5,137 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total value of $332,982.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This trade represents a 10.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $363.19 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $362.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $384.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $460.00.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.13 by $1.33. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.08 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ULTA. B. Riley decreased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $430.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $538.00 to $526.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $427.61.

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.