Strs Ohio Takes $1.45 Million Position in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,557 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,447,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 93.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 178.0% during the 1st quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 180.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 171 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 2.7%

RL opened at $306.09 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.03. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52 week low of $176.61 and a 52 week high of $321.77. The company has a market capitalization of $18.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.50 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th will be issued a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RL shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $360.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $355.00 to $406.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.41.

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.