Prudential PLC Purchases 25,821 Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Prudential PLC raised its position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 289.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,757 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 25,821 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $10,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LULU. Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 19,890.3% in the 2nd quarter. Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd now owns 4,653,746 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,390,074,000 after buying an additional 4,630,466 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,692,969 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,955,918,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,119 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the 4th quarter valued at $236,378,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,046,011 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $534,815,000 after purchasing an additional 257,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 2,485.5% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 238,664 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $122,027,000 after purchasing an additional 229,433 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lululemon Athletica news, CEO Calvin Mcdonald bought 4,000 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $260.00 per share, with a total value of $1,040,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 89,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,379,720. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LULU opened at $248.59 on Tuesday. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 1 year low of $226.01 and a 1 year high of $516.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $265.44 and its 200 day moving average is $329.91.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.59% and a net margin of 16.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Lululemon Athletica announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LULU shares. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $525.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. HSBC raised shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $405.00 to $425.00 in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $445.00 target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $354.94.

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.