National Pension Service Decreases Position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

National Pension Service cut its stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 34.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,004 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 90,146 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.14% of Lululemon Athletica worth $64,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 127.5% in the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 116 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 309.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 85.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:LULU opened at $362.16 on Friday. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 52 week low of $226.01 and a 52 week high of $480.94. The company has a market cap of $44.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $387.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $328.16.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.18. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 42.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.53 earnings per share. Lululemon Athletica’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LULU shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $440.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $292.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $382.00 to $383.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lululemon Athletica presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $399.14.

Insider Activity at Lululemon Athletica

In related news, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.54, for a total value of $10,085,779.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,040,456.66. The trade was a 66.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.11, for a total transaction of $782,736.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,399,307.78. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lululemon Athletica Profile

Lululemon Athletica Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, distributes, and retails athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories under the lululemon brand for women and men. It offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for healthy lifestyle, such as yoga, running, training, and other activities. It also provides fitness-inspired accessories.