Impax Asset Management Group plc Boosts Stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,165 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,676 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $7,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 78.2% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 98 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Lululemon Athletica in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 61.5% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 127.5% in the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 116 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Lululemon Athletica in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LULU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $457.00 to $338.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $420.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.13.

Insider Activity at Lululemon Athletica

In other news, CEO Calvin Mcdonald bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $260.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,040,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 89,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,379,720. The trade was a 4.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.59, for a total transaction of $131,020.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,670,918.82. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LULU opened at $320.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $285.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.70. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a one year low of $226.01 and a one year high of $516.39.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 42.59%. Lululemon Athletica’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.