Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) Position Trimmed by LGT Capital Partners LTD.

LGT Capital Partners LTD. lowered its stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 249,084 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 12,796 shares during the quarter. Lululemon Athletica makes up 3.8% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $127,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 573 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 809 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 3.2% in the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on LULU. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $525.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $531.00 to $509.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.66.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

Shares of Lululemon Athletica stock opened at $390.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.99, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.33. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 1 year low of $326.93 and a 1 year high of $516.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $458.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $441.95.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The apparel retailer reported $5.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.00 by $0.29. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.40 EPS. Lululemon Athletica’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Lululemon Athletica announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 1.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Lululemon Athletica news, Director Martha A. M. Morfitt acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $389.29 per share, with a total value of $272,503.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $194,645. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Lululemon Athletica Company 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 operates in two segments, Company-Operated Stores and Direct to Consumer. The company offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for healthy lifestyle, such as yoga, running, training, and other activities.