Plato Investment Management Ltd Trims Position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Plato Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,429 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 449 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $1,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LULU. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the 3rd quarter worth $93,476,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 136.3% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 529,295 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $143,624,000 after buying an additional 305,302 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the 3rd quarter worth $81,405,000. River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the 3rd quarter worth $79,503,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 248.5% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 323,031 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $123,530,000 after buying an additional 230,349 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LULU shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $382.00 to $383.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $265.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $380.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $399.14.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ LULU opened at $347.81 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $386.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $330.91. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 52-week low of $226.01 and a 52-week high of $480.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,040,456.66. The trade was a 66.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.11, for a total value of $782,736.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,399,307.78. This trade 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.

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.