lululemon athletica inc. $LULU Shares Bought by Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management increased its lululemon stake by 53.1% in the fourth quarter, owning 68,093 shares worth about $14.15 million. Several other hedge funds also added or opened positions, and institutional investors now hold the vast majority of the stock.
• Insider trading was mixed: CEO Andre Maestrini bought 3,275 shares in early April, while insider Nicole Neuburger sold 622 shares later that month. Company insiders currently own only 0.54% of lululemon shares.
• LULU shares have fallen sharply, opening at $126.34 and sitting near their 52-week low, despite the company recently beating quarterly earnings and revenue estimates. Analysts have turned more cautious, with multiple firms cutting price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Hold.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU - Free Report) by 53.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,093 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 23,623 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.06% of lululemon athletica worth $14,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LULU. Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of lululemon athletica during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in lululemon athletica in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in lululemon athletica by 81.9% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 151 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in lululemon athletica by 187.5% in the third quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 161 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of lululemon athletica during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 85.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

lululemon athletica Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of LULU stock opened at $126.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.90. lululemon athletica inc. has a fifty-two week low of $126.10 and a fifty-two week high of $340.25.

lululemon athletica (NASDAQ:LULU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The apparel retailer reported $5.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.78 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. lululemon athletica had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 34.82%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that lululemon athletica inc. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LULU. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on lululemon athletica from $210.00 to $176.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on lululemon athletica from $170.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group cut their target price on lululemon athletica from $189.00 to $176.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of lululemon athletica from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of lululemon athletica from $215.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a 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 assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $203.80.

lululemon athletica Company Profile

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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