ING Groep NV Acquires Shares of 5,161 Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

ING Groep NV bought a new position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,161 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,192,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in Ralph Lauren by 546.7% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 27,030 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $6,243,000 after purchasing an additional 22,850 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 15,135 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,496,000 after purchasing an additional 4,585 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 971 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 78.0% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 2,111 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 141.7% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 539 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Ralph Lauren from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.15.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE RL opened at $277.92 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $248.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.49. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 52-week low of $155.96 and a 52-week high of $289.33.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 10.14%. Analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. 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 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.11%.

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, floor coverings, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, dining, decorative accessories, and giftware; and fragrances.