Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Invests $205,000 in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,421 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in RL. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 99.2% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 47.9% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 119.9% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 343 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 25.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 576 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $168.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $177.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.47. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 52 week low of $103.17 and a 52 week high of $192.03.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The textile maker reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.53 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 25.88%. Ralph Lauren’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is currently 34.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $132.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.64.

Ralph Lauren 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.