Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Raises Stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 291.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,491 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,576 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $2,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,474,828 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $669,036,000 after buying an additional 44,294 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 719,413 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $275,111,000 after acquiring an additional 17,119 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 611,814 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $166,016,000 after acquiring an additional 185,440 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 60.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 546,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $148,201,000 after acquiring an additional 205,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 136.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 529,295 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $143,624,000 after acquiring an additional 305,302 shares during the last quarter. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LULU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $270.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $382.00 to $383.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lululemon Athletica has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $399.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.11, for a total transaction of $782,736.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,399,307.78. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of Lululemon Athletica 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

Shares of LULU opened at $349.53 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $384.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $331.65. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 12-month low of $226.01 and a 12-month high of $480.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.21.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.18. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.16% and a net margin of 17.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share 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.