Aberdeen Group plc Trims Stock Position in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Aberdeen Group plc lowered its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 69.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,264 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 5,244 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in RL. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1,228.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 93 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 143 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 69.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 151 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of RL stock opened at $385.06 on Monday. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 12 month low of $176.61 and a 12 month high of $389.15. The company has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $362.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $336.12.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.42. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 37.97%. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.22, for a total transaction of $16,648,340.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 85,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,304,229.44. This represents a 35.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 38.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $474.00 to $477.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays set a $416.00 price target on Ralph Lauren and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Ralph Lauren from $425.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $333.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.19.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men’s neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren’s product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.