Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU – Get Rating) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 282,056 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 6,836 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.22% of Lululemon Athletica worth $90,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elequin Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Corrado Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 423.8% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 110 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.04% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 17,343 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.00, for a total value of $6,278,166.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,324. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

Shares of LULU opened at $342.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $360.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $337.49. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a one year low of $258.79 and a one year high of $389.06. The company has a market capitalization of $43.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.39.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The apparel retailer reported $4.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.14. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 10.54%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.37 EPS. Lululemon Athletica’s quarterly revenue was up 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 11.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LULU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $304.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $368.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, March 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $393.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $404.50.

Lululemon Athletica Profile

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lululemon athletica, Inc engages in the business of designing, distributing, and retailing technical athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories. It operates through the following segments: Company-Operated Stores, Direct to Consumer, and Other. The company was founded by Dennis James Wilson in 1998 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.