Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 9,312 Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 454.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,363 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,312 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $5,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LULU. Rockline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,503,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 30.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 189,953 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $73,248,000 after purchasing an additional 44,141 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 1.9% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 290,658 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $112,081,000 after purchasing an additional 5,403 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

Shares of LULU stock opened at $338.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $42.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $427.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $439.92. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 1-year low of $326.93 and a 1-year high of $516.39.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The apparel retailer reported $5.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.00 by $0.29. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 44.41% and a net margin of 16.11%. 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 previous year, the business earned $4.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LULU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $610.00 to $546.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. HSBC dropped their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $500.00 to $405.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $539.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $485.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Martha A. M. Morfitt bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $389.29 per share, for a total transaction of $272,503.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $194,645. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company 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 offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for healthy lifestyle, such as yoga, running, training, and other activities. It also provides fitness-inspired accessories.