Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 72,942 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $16,848,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.12% of Ralph Lauren at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1,270.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Ralph Lauren by 281.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 202 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 22,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd now owns 226 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 333.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 351 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BNP Paribas raised Ralph Lauren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.43.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $206.51 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $233.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $228.13. The stock has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12-month low of $155.96 and a 12-month 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 the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 10.14%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.11%.

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