KBC Group NV Grows Position in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

KBC Group NV boosted its position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 82.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,682 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,988 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $6,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 4,425 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,565,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1.1% during the third quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,257 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on RL shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $437.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Ralph Lauren from $430.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $480.00 to $511.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ralph Lauren from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $430.79.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 4.1%

NYSE RL opened at $371.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.13. The firm has a market cap of $22.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.34. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a one year low of $273.04 and a one year high of $421.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $383.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $367.00.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.28. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 18.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.47%.

Ralph Lauren Company 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.