Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 64,645 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,220,762 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 64,645 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.41% of Ralph Lauren worth $1,205,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RL. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 70.3% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,436 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 5,133 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,848 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 32,465 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $6,294,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 81.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 121,139 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $23,485,000 after acquiring an additional 54,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the third quarter worth $86,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RL. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $258.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Raymond James lowered Ralph Lauren from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Ralph Lauren in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $310.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.62.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of RL stock opened at $224.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $251.50 and its 200 day moving average is $225.48. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1-year low of $155.96 and a 1-year high of $289.33.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued 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 net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. Research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 30.11%.

About Ralph Lauren

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.