Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Acquires New Shares in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 699 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 51,219.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 688,196 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $351,868,000 after purchasing an additional 686,855 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 437,069 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew 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 in the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the third quarter valued at $71,483,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 171,227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LULU opened at $352.95 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $394.16 and a 200 day moving average of $436.46. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 52-week low of $326.93 and a 52-week high of $516.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.30.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The apparel retailer reported $5.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.00 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 44.41% and a net margin of 16.11%. Lululemon Athletica’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martha A. M. Morfitt acquired 700 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,645. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LULU. BTIG Research started coverage on Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays downgraded Lululemon Athletica from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $546.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $539.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, HSBC cut their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $500.00 to $405.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $474.79.

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.