Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $380.86 and last traded at $378.3080, with a volume of 386148 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $370.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $333.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ralph Lauren from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.19.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $361.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $334.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.22, for a total transaction of $16,648,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,304,229.44. This represents a 35.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 38.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 5.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,432 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased 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 worth $2,723,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 39.5% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 3,369 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 954 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 29.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,812 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 2nd quarter valued at about $386,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ralph Lauren

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.