Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL Shares Bought by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 619.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,634 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,490 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $7,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,432 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,334 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,723,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 39.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 3,369 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 29.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,812 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the second quarter valued at $386,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE RL opened at $398.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $23.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $374.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $364.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52-week low of $266.20 and a 52-week high of $421.60.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.27 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 18.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is currently 26.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on RL. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $430.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ralph Lauren from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Ralph Lauren from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $430.07.

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.