Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 2,073 Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,569 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,073 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $16,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LULU. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 178 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 651 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 4.6% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 950 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, First Pacific Financial increased its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 3,096 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,184,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

Shares of LULU stock opened at $366.68 on Friday. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 52 week low of $226.01 and a 52 week high of $480.94. The company has a market capitalization of $44.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $391.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $320.44.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.16% and a net margin of 17.05%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lululemon Athletica

In other Lululemon Athletica news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.11, for a total value of $782,736.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,399,307.78. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.54, for a total transaction of $10,085,779.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,429 shares in the company, valued at $5,040,456.66. This represents a 66.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LULU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $378.00 to $411.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $315.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $382.00 to $383.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $438.00 price objective (up from $370.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a report on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $399.14.

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.