Legal & General Group Plc Boosts Holdings in lululemon athletica inc. $LULU

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its lululemon stake by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 981,838 shares valued at about $204 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added or initiated positions in lululemon, and overall hedge funds and institutions own 85.20% of the company’s shares.
• lululemon recently reached a cooperation agreement with founder Chip Wilson, ending the proxy fight and adding two Wilson-backed directors, though analysts still point to slowing North American sales and other operating challenges.

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 981,838 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 13,296 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.84% of lululemon athletica worth $204,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of lululemon athletica in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of lululemon athletica in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of lululemon athletica in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of lululemon athletica by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 151 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of lululemon athletica by 187.5% in the 3rd quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 161 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.20% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting lululemon athletica

Here are the key news stories impacting lululemon athletica this week:

• Positive Sentiment: lululemon reached a cooperation agreement with Chip Wilson, ending the public proxy battle and reducing uncertainty around board control. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The company will add two Wilson-backed directors, including executives with apparel and marketing experience, which may improve strategic oversight and support a board refresh. Business Wire article
• Positive Sentiment: Wilson agreed to standstill, voting, and non-disparagement restrictions for about 18 months, which should lower the risk of renewed public criticism or a fresh governance fight. Stocktwits article
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the board truce, analysts note that lululemon still faces operational challenges, including slowing North American sales and a weak outlook, so the stock’s longer-term recovery will likely depend on fundamentals, not just governance. Proactive Investors article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LULU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on lululemon athletica from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on lululemon athletica from $196.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. BTIG Research lowered their price target on lululemon athletica from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on lululemon athletica from $190.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on lululemon athletica from $189.00 to $176.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $201.66.

lululemon athletica Stock Up 2.9%

NASDAQ LULU opened at $131.04 on Thursday. lululemon athletica inc. has a 52 week low of $116.63 and a 52 week high of $340.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.85, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $146.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.08.

lululemon athletica (NASDAQ:LULU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The apparel retailer reported $5.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.78 by $0.23. lululemon athletica had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 34.82%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.14 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that lululemon athletica inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at lululemon athletica

In related news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 622 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.00, for a total transaction of $100,142.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,116. The trade was a 3.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Andre Maestrini acquired 3,275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $151.02 per share, with a total value of $494,590.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 34,551 shares in the company, valued at $5,217,892.02. This trade represents a 10.47% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About lululemon athletica

lululemon athletica inc. is a design-focused athletic apparel company known for performance-oriented apparel, footwear and accessories. The company's product portfolio centers on technical apparel for yoga, running, training and everyday active lifestyle use and includes tops, bottoms, outerwear, underwear, bags and a growing footwear assortment. lululemon emphasizes fabric science and product innovation, marketing garments that blend performance features with lifestyle styling.

Products are developed in-house and produced through a network of third-party manufacturers.

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