Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,175 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 258 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $28,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lululemon Athletica during the 4th quarter worth about $1,503,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 189,953 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $73,248,000 after buying an additional 44,141 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 95,880 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,291,000 after buying an additional 9,943 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 290,658 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $112,081,000 after buying an additional 5,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Up 0.9 %

LULU stock opened at $389.46 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $49.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $459.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $442.32. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 52 week low of $314.22 and a 52 week high of $516.39.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The apparel retailer reported $5.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.00 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.40 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lululemon Athletica declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 1.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on LULU shares. Barclays cut their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $610.00 to $546.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $525.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore boosted their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $475.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. Wedbush dropped their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $548.00 to $492.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.66.

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 operates in two segments, Company-Operated Stores and Direct to Consumer. The company offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for healthy lifestyle, such as yoga, running, training, and other activities.