Retirement Systems of Alabama Takes $12.98 Million Position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 25,379 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $12,976,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 600.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 49 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 270.0% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 74 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Lululemon Athletica during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Lululemon Athletica during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lululemon Athletica

In other news, Director Martha A. M. Morfitt bought 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $389.29 per share, with a total value of $272,503.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,645. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LULU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $300.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $445.00 target price (down previously from $540.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $575.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $553.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $476.57.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

Shares of Lululemon Athletica stock opened at $354.40 on Thursday. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a one year low of $326.93 and a one year high of $516.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $405.40 and its 200 day moving average is $438.38. The firm has a market cap of $44.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.30.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The apparel retailer reported $5.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.