Federated Hermes Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 73.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,528 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 155,424 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $17,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 31.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 15,425 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,607,000 after buying an additional 3,721 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 202.8% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 1,148 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 9.7% in the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 34,709 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $10,368,000 after buying an additional 3,077 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,874,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 4.0% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,261 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,250,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

Shares of Lululemon Athletica stock opened at $266.76 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $262.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $324.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.25. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 1-year low of $226.01 and a 1-year high of $516.39.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 42.59%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.03 EPS for the current year.

Lululemon Athletica declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Lululemon Athletica

In other Lululemon Athletica news, CEO Calvin Mcdonald purchased 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $260.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,040,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 89,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,379,720. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LULU shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $416.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $525.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. HSBC raised shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $405.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $420.00 to $384.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lululemon Athletica presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $354.94.

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.