Fifth Third Bancorp Acquires 4,479 Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 26.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,505 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,479 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $8,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LULU. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 651 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Lululemon Athletica by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 950 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 902 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

NASDAQ LULU opened at $400.03 on Monday. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a one year low of $226.01 and a one year high of $491.30. The firm has a market cap of $48.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $368.60 and its 200-day moving average is $307.60.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last posted its earnings results 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. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.16% and a net margin of 17.05%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.53 EPS. Lululemon Athletica’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.11, for a total value of $782,736.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,399,307.78. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of the company’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 value of $10,085,779.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,040,456.66. This trade represents a 66.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LULU shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $315.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $292.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $414.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $300.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Lululemon Athletica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $391.00.

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.