Empire Life Investments Inc. Purchases 1,922 Shares of Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL)

Empire Life Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL - Free Report) by 31.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,983 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,922 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in Burlington Stores were worth $2,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Burlington Stores by 1,048.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 730,524 shares of the company's stock valued at $192,478,000 after acquiring an additional 666,934 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Burlington Stores during the third quarter valued at about $239,510,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Burlington Stores by 3,041.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 30,912 shares of the company's stock worth $8,145,000 after purchasing an additional 29,928 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Burlington Stores by 317.6% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 37,563 shares of the company's stock worth $9,897,000 after buying an additional 28,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Burlington Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,462,000.

Insider Activity at Burlington Stores

In related news, CMO Jennifer Vecchio sold 494 shares of Burlington Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.95, for a total transaction of $140,765.30. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 59,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,936,573.15. This trade represents a 0.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 1,481 shares of company stock worth $421,892 over the last three months. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Burlington Stores from $315.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group raised shares of Burlington Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $280.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Burlington Stores from $327.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Burlington Stores from $313.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Burlington Stores from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $317.87.

Burlington Stores Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BURL traded down $4.58 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $241.97. 633,947 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 794,397. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $279.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $270.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Burlington Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.64 and a 12-month high of $298.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.62.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Burlington Stores had a return on equity of 47.52% and a net margin of 4.49%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Burlington Stores's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Burlington Stores, Inc. will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

Burlington Stores Profile

Burlington Stores, Inc operates as a retailer of branded merchandise in the United States. The company provides fashion-focused merchandise, including women's ready-to-wear apparel, menswear, youth apparel, footwear, accessories, toys, gifts, and coats, as well as baby, home, and beauty products.