Shell Asset Management Co. Trims Position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Shell Asset Management Co. trimmed its position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 45.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,205 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 2,646 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $1,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LULU. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 1,263 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 1.0% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 2,846 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,112,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its position in Lululemon Athletica by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 1,519 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 2,964 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 699 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LULU has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $376.00 to $382.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $521.00 to $463.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Citigroup cut Lululemon Athletica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $415.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $430.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $419.48.

Lululemon Athletica Trading Up 1.5 %

Lululemon Athletica stock traded up $3.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $250.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,512,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,083,697. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 12 month low of $245.59 and a 12 month high of $516.39. The company has a market capitalization of $31.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $301.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $379.73.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.16. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.09% and a return on equity of 42.64%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

Lululemon Athletica declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.