Strs Ohio Reduces Holdings in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Strs Ohio decreased its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU - Free Report) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,763 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 61,097 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.16% of Lululemon Athletica worth $102,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 327,945 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $167,675,000 after purchasing an additional 3,587 shares in the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter worth about $731,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter worth about $8,487,000. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter worth about $3,242,000. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its position in Lululemon Athletica by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 1,851 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.20% of the company's stock.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LULU traded down $13.79 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $336.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,664,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,067,360. The company has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.30. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 12 month low of $326.93 and a 12 month high of $516.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $432.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $440.56.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The apparel retailer reported $5.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.00 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 44.41%. Lululemon Athletica's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Martha A. M. Morfitt purchased 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $389.29 per share, with a total value of $272,503.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LULU. Citigroup dropped their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $300.00 to $240.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $520.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $445.00 price objective (down previously from $540.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $531.00 to $509.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lululemon Athletica currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $485.39.

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.