Public Sector Pension Investment Board Reduces Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc.

On December 8, 2024, it was reported that the Public Sector Pension Investment Board significantly decreased its investment in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA). During the third quarter, the board reduced its stake by 97.6%, holding only 2,086 shares after selling 84,560 shares. According to the latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the board's remaining shares in Ulta Beauty were valued at approximately $812,000.

In addition to the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, several other institutional investors and hedge funds have made adjustments to their positions in Ulta Beauty. For instance, International Assets Investment Management LLC made substantial increases to its stake, raising it by an astonishing 180,713.0% during the same period, now owning 1,238,569 shares worth about $481,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,884 shares. Other investors, like the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board, also joined with a new position valued at around $359,480,000 in the third quarter.

Investor Movements

TD Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 14.1% in the second quarter, bringing its total to 620,793 shares worth $239,545,000 after an additional purchase of 76,721 shares. Likewise, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings by 5.4% in the third quarter, resulting in ownership of 610,400 shares valued at $237,519,000 after acquiring an extra 31,540 shares. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt also expanded its stake by 14.4%, now holding 516,405 shares worth $200,944,000 after an additional purchase of 65,000 shares in the last quarter. Collectively, institutional investors control approximately 90.39% of Ulta Beauty's stock.

Analyst Insights

Analysts have provided varied opinions on Ulta Beauty recently. Evercore ISI lowered its price target for the company from $500.00 to $430.00, rating it as “outperform.” Conversely, UBS Group raised its target price from $470.00 to $490.00 and retained a “buy” rating for the stock. Additionally, Oppenheimer also increased its price target, now standing at $505.00. Meanwhile, Piper Sandler issued a neutral rating with a price objective of $360.00 and Wells Fargo lifted its price target from $300.00 to $350.00, providing an “underweight” rating. Presently, two equity research analysts rate Ulta Beauty with a sell rating, twelve give it a hold rating, and eleven have a buy rating, showing a general consensus of “Hold” with an average target price set at $438.00 based on data from MarketBeat.com.

Recent Performance and Earnings

Ulta Beauty's stock (ULTA) showed a positive performance, opening at $428.17 on the last trading Friday. The company boasts a market capitalization of $20.18 billion, with a PE ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 1.32. Investors note that Ulta Beauty's stock has fluctuated between a 52-week low of $318.17 and a high of $574.76. The company's 50-day and 200-day moving averages are currently at $374.15 and $376.64, respectively.

Recently, Ulta Beauty released its quarterly earnings data. For the quarter ending December 5, the company reported earnings of $5.14 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.69. The net margin reported was at 10.68%, with a return on equity of 54.02%. The total revenue for the quarter reached $2.53 billion, just above the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion, marking a 1.7% increase compared to the same quarter from the previous year. Analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will report earnings of approximately $23.07 per share for the current year.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc. functions as a specialty beauty retailer within the United States. The company sells a variety of branded and private label beauty products, including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools through its physical Ulta Beauty stores, online at Ulta.com, and via its mobile applications.

Investment, Stake, Shares, Earnings