Stonegate Investment Group LLC Acquires Shares of 517 Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 517 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LULU. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,696,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 48.4% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 4,022 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC bought a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the 1st quarter worth approximately $774,000. 85.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on LULU shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $575.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $560.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $553.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $561.00 to $498.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lululemon Athletica has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.29.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

Shares of LULU stock opened at $374.01 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $450.50 and its 200-day moving average is $442.19. The stock has a market cap of $47.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.30. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 52-week low of $326.93 and a 52-week high of $516.39.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The apparel retailer reported $5.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.00 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 44.41%. Lululemon Athletica’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lululemon Athletica declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 1.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martha A. M. Morfitt purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $389.29 per share, with a total value of $272,503.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $194,645. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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 operates in two segments, Company-Operated Stores and Direct to Consumer. The company offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for healthy lifestyle, such as yoga, running, training, and other activities.