Swedbank AB Sells 50,000 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Swedbank AB reduced its position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 125,000 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 50,000 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $44,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 32,362 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $10,147,000 after purchasing an additional 5,075 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 265,601 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $83,282,000 after purchasing an additional 18,355 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $899,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 159.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 10,113 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,171,000 after purchasing an additional 6,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $86,719,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RL. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $425.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $477.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.22, for a total value of $16,648,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 85,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,304,229.44. The trade was a 35.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 38.34% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL stock opened at $352.99 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $357.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $354.61. The company has a market capitalization of $21.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.37. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52-week low of $246.07 and a 52-week high of $393.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 37.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 16.25 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were given a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 24.85%.

Ralph Lauren Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men’s neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren’s product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.