KBC Group NV Cuts Position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

KBC Group NV reduced its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 49.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,430 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 34,029 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $9,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,847,954 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,847,103,000 after buying an additional 154,985 shares during the last quarter. Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 19,890.3% during the second quarter. Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd now owns 4,653,746 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,390,074,000 after acquiring an additional 4,630,466 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 4.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,769,096 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $528,429,000 after acquiring an additional 82,731 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 3.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,040,384 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $310,763,000 after acquiring an additional 37,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 74,856.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 895,726 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $243,055,000 after purchasing an additional 894,531 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of Lululemon Athletica stock opened at $320.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $286.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.39. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a twelve month low of $226.01 and a twelve month high of $516.39.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.59% and a net margin of 16.34%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.02 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on LULU. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $291.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $457.00 to $338.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $525.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $345.00 to $325.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lululemon Athletica

In related news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.59, for a total transaction of $131,020.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,198 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,918.82. This represents a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Calvin Mcdonald acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $260.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,040,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 89,922 shares in the company, valued at $23,379,720. The trade was a 4.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.