Principal Securities Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,864 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,464,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,751 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 6.3% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 628 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC increased its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 13.5% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $929,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,600,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 726 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 85.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Martha A. M. Morfitt purchased 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $389.29 per share, for a total transaction of $272,503.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $194,645. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on LULU shares. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $445.00 target price (down previously from $540.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $450.00 to $425.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $539.00 target price (down from $596.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $548.00 to $492.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $474.79.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

LULU traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $352.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,390,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,756,889. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.30. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a twelve month low of $326.93 and a twelve month high of $516.39. The company's 50-day moving average price is $389.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $435.53.

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