Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Trims Stock Position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC cut its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,331 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 627 shares during the quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $1,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LULU. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 127.5% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 116 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 309.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Lululemon Athletica

In other news, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.54, for a total value of $10,085,779.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,040,456.66. This trade represents a 66.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.11, for a total transaction of $782,736.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,399,307.78. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LULU. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $430.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $292.00 to $396.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $265.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $380.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $440.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $399.14.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

Shares of LULU opened at $365.61 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $386.81 and its 200-day moving average is $329.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.19. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 12-month low of $226.01 and a 12-month high of $480.94.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 42.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for healthy lifestyle, such as yoga, running, training, and other activities. It also provides fitness-inspired accessories.