Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $4.43 Million Stock Holdings in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,659 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $4,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of 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. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lululemon Athletica in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC increased 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 buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Lululemon Athletica during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lululemon Athletica news, Director Martha A. M. Morfitt acquired 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $389.29 per share, with a total value of $272,503.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $194,645. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

LULU traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $350.92. The company had a trading volume of 819,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,739,389. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $398.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $437.42. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 12-month low of $326.93 and a 12-month high of $516.39. The stock has a market cap of $44.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LULU. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $539.00 price objective (down from $596.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays cut Lululemon Athletica from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $546.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $445.00 price objective (down previously from $540.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Friday, April 5th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $570.00 to $515.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.