Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 481.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,400 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,643 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $1,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 100 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 248.4% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 108 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 57.1% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 143 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RL. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $389.06.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of RL opened at $338.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $360.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $342.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.52. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1 year low of $176.61 and a 1 year high of $389.15.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.42. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 37.97% and a net margin of 11.73%.The company had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of Ralph Lauren stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 85,552 shares in the company, valued at $30,304,229.44. This trade represents a 35.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 38.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.