E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Trims Stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,097 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 942 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $3,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 49 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lululemon Athletica during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 270.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 74 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LULU shares. BNP Paribas downgraded Lululemon Athletica from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $430.00 to $415.00 in a report on Friday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $539.00 target price (down from $596.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays downgraded shares of Lululemon Athletica from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $546.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lululemon Athletica has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $474.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martha A. M. Morfitt purchased 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $389.29 per share, with a total value of $272,503.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,645. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Lululemon Athletica Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LULU traded up $7.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $352.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,769,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,740,536. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 1 year low of $326.93 and a 1 year high of $516.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $396.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $437.09. The company has a market capitalization of $44.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.30.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The apparel retailer reported $5.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.00 by $0.29. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 44.41% and a net margin of 16.11%. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.15 EPS for the current year.

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.