SlateStone Wealth LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,508 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $3,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 51,219.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 688,196 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $351,868,000 after acquiring an additional 686,855 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 29.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,934,683 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $746,034,000 after purchasing an additional 437,069 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 20.0% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,865,091 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $719,198,000 after purchasing an additional 310,347 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the third quarter valued at $71,483,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 34.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 668,087 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $257,627,000 after purchasing an additional 171,227 shares during the period. 85.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LULU. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $555.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Raymond James lifted their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $525.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $548.00 to $492.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $483.61.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LULU traded down $2.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $362.37. 134,346 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,768,561. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 52 week low of $326.93 and a 52 week high of $516.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $416.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $439.37. The company has a market cap of $45.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.30.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Martha A. M. Morfitt purchased 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $389.29 per share, for a total transaction of $272,503.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,645. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently 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.