Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Buys 21,386 Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 236.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,416 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,386 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $9,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 32.6% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 25,656 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,664,000 after purchasing an additional 6,309 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 63,185 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $18,873,000 after buying an additional 2,456 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the second quarter valued at about $206,000. Choreo LLC raised its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 680.1% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,601 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 4,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 3.7% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,939 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $525.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $470.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Monday, August 26th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $415.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $445.00 price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $354.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lululemon Athletica

In related news, CEO Calvin Mcdonald acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $260.00 per share, with a total value of $1,040,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 89,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,379,720. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LULU opened at $248.59 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $265.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $329.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.25. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a twelve month low of $226.01 and a twelve month high of $516.39.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 42.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lululemon Athletica announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Lululemon Athletica 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.