Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 387 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Calamos Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 29,633 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 387 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $14,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ULTA. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,142 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,010,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 47.1% during the 4th quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 1,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $722,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,433 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, First American Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 12,392 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,674 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,523,936.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ULTA shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $580.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $561.29.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock traded down $11.31 on Friday, hitting $413.80. 256,698 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 761,585. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $368.02 and a 1-year high of $574.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $514.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $467.55.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.68 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.74 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.