Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Decreases Stock Position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,554 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $9,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the third quarter valued at $93,476,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 136.3% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 529,295 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $143,624,000 after purchasing an additional 305,302 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the third quarter valued at $81,405,000. River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the third quarter valued at $79,503,000. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 151.0% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 367,584 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $99,744,000 after purchasing an additional 221,112 shares in the last quarter. 85.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.54, for a total transaction of $10,085,779.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,429 shares in the company, valued at $5,040,456.66. The trade was a 66.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.11, for a total value of $782,736.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,399,307.78. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LULU shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $378.00 to $411.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $414.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $380.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $440.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $399.14.

Lululemon Athletica Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ LULU opened at $358.97 on Monday. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 1-year low of $226.01 and a 1-year high of $480.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $388.35 and a 200-day moving average of $325.86. The firm has a market cap of $43.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.19.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.18. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.16% and a net margin of 17.05%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.53 EPS. Lululemon Athletica’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Lululemon Athletica

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.