Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Receives Hold Rating from Argus

Argus restated their hold rating on shares of Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on RL. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an outperform rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Guggenheim reiterated a buy rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. They issued a buy rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $170.50.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of RL stock opened at $167.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.45. Ralph Lauren has a 52-week low of $108.60 and a 52-week high of $192.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The textile maker reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 9.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 11.07 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 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.25, for a total transaction of $11,515,363.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 44,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,636,208.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RL. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 71.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 604 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,255,482 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $235,662,000 after purchasing an additional 41,482 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter valued at $61,022,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 106.7% in the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,308 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,748,000 after buying an additional 4,805 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 166.9% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 20,127 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,779,000 after buying an additional 12,585 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation designs, markets, and distributes lifestyle products in North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers apparel, including a range of men's, women's, and children's clothing; footwear and accessories, which comprise casual shoes, dress shoes, boots, sneakers, sandals, eyewear, watches, fashion and fine jewelry, scarves, hats, gloves, and umbrellas, as well as leather goods, such as handbags, luggage, small leather goods, and belts; home products consisting of bed and bath lines, furniture, fabric and wallcoverings, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, and giftware; and fragrances.