Metis Global Partners LLC Purchases 176 Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,104 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $1,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 83.3% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ULTA. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $507.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $522.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $420.71.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

ULTA stock opened at $365.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.33. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a one year low of $318.17 and a one year high of $574.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $380.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $379.36.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.47 by ($0.17). Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 54.02% and a net margin of 10.68%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.02 EPS. Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.07 EPS for the current year.

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.