Merit Financial Group LLC Has $797,000 Holdings in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 111.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,558 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new position in Lululemon Athletica during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lululemon Athletica during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 270.0% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 74 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. bought a new position in Lululemon Athletica during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lululemon Athletica Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of LULU stock opened at $350.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $398.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $437.42. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 1 year low of $326.93 and a 1 year high of $516.39. The stock has a market cap of $44.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martha A. M. Morfitt acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $389.29 per share, for a total transaction of $272,503.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,645. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LULU has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $561.00 to $498.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $539.00 price target (down from $596.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $539.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $476.57.

Lululemon Athletica Company 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.