Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL – Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the textile maker’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $92.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $97.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, February 6th. Cowen increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $132.00 to $148.00 in a report on Monday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the company from $101.00 to $134.00 in a report on Friday, January 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $124.86.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RL opened at $110.92 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $119.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Ralph Lauren has a 12 month low of $82.23 and a 12 month high of $128.94.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The textile maker reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 22.88%. Ralph Lauren’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren will post 8.11 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is presently 40.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 18,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $2,312,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 202,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,291,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 36.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RL. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 18.3% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,918,601 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $502,667,000 after purchasing an additional 916,317 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 36.5% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,913,333 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $261,180,000 after acquiring an additional 778,289 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 4,026.3% during the second quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 691,155 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $61,962,000 after acquiring an additional 674,405 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,532,719 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $161,962,000 after acquiring an additional 640,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 224.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 549,031 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $58,172,000 after acquiring an additional 379,563 shares in the last quarter. 66.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

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Ralph Lauren Corp. engages in the design, marketing, and distribution of premium lifestyle products. The firm offers apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and other licensed products. It operates through the following segments: North America, Europe, and Asia. The North America segment consists of sales of Ralph Lauren branded apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and related products made through the Company’s wholesale and retail businesses in the U.S.