New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Holdings in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,291 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 3,497 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $56,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LULU. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the third quarter worth about $212,000. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Lululemon Athletica in the third quarter worth approximately $262,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 61.8% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,213 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,128,000 after buying an additional 5,813 shares in the last quarter. Narwhal Capital Management boosted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 416.0% in the third quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 3,509 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 2,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marietta Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 19.6% in the third quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,555 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,849,000 after buying an additional 3,531 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.11, for a total transaction of $782,736.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,198 shares in the company, valued at $2,399,307.78. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.54, for a total value of $10,085,779.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,040,456.66. The trade was a 66.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Lululemon Athletica Trading Down 1.3 %

LULU opened at $367.52 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $389.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $323.43. The company has a market cap of $44.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.19. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 12-month low of $226.01 and a 12-month high of $480.94.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.16% and a net margin of 17.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $430.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $292.00 to $396.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $382.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $399.14.

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.