Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) Shares Purchased by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 136.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 529,295 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 305,302 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $143,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 78.2% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 98 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 61.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 127.5% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 116 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the second quarter valued at $33,000. 85.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Lululemon Athletica

In other news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.59, for a total transaction of $131,020.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,198 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,918.82. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Calvin Mcdonald purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $260.00 per share, with a total value of $1,040,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 89,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,379,720. The trade was a 4.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LULU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James lowered their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $291.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $525.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $420.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $263.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $358.13.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

Shares of LULU stock opened at $318.84 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $294.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.62. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a twelve month low of $226.01 and a twelve month high of $516.39. The company has a market capitalization of $39.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.24.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.22. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.59% and a net margin of 16.34%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.02 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.