Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 380,230 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA – Free Report) by 98.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,981 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 380,230 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $3,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 544,072 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $284,484,000 after purchasing an additional 136,725 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $263,192,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 357,503 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $186,933,000 after purchasing an additional 4,344 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth approximately $176,753,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 45,740.3% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 291,544 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $142,854,000 after acquiring an additional 290,908 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $366.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $387.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $449.09. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1 year low of $362.10 and a 1 year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.19 by $0.28. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 58.06%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 25.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ULTA. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $394.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $497.61.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on ULTA

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Ulta Beauty Profile

(Free Report)

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.