Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Stock Position Boosted by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,845 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 5,349 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $7,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 52.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 46,554 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $5,404,000 after buying an additional 16,083 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 442,295 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $51,346,000 after acquiring an additional 28,051 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,419 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 12,872 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 1.7 %

Ralph Lauren stock opened at $168.04 on Friday. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12 month low of $103.17 and a 12 month high of $192.03. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.38.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The textile maker reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.53 by $0.64. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 8.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.35 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.08.

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.