Lafayette Investments Inc. Takes Position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Lafayette Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 413 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 573 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 1,263 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 809 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

Shares of LULU stock traded up $3.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $351.45. The stock had a trading volume of 618,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,756,478. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $326.93 and a fifty-two week high of $516.39. The firm has a market cap of $44.29 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $422.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $438.62.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The apparel retailer reported $5.29 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lululemon Athletica

In related news, Director Martha A. M. Morfitt acquired 700 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $389.29 per share, for a total transaction of $272,503.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,645. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $575.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $610.00 to $546.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $415.00 in a report on Friday, February 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $483.61.

About Lululemon Athletica

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.