Commerce Bank Boosts Holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Commerce Bank boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 40.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 506 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth $4,367,000. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 4,100.0% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 126 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2,316.7% during the fourth quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 58.9% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 151 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 86.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $243.31 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $213.17 and a 200 day moving average of $237.57. Ulta Beauty Inc has a 12 month low of $124.05 and a 12 month high of $368.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The specialty retailer reported ($1.39) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($2.00). The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.54% and a return on equity of 36.75%. The business’s revenue was down 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc will post 7.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.60 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

ULTA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Credit Suisse Group lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $286.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $242.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Cfra lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $340.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Nomura upped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $190.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $315.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.85.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc operates as a beauty retailer in the United States. The company's stores offer cosmetics, fragrances, skincare and haircare products, bath and body products, and salon styling tools; salon services, including hair, skin, makeup, and brow services; and others, including nail products and accessories.

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