Candriam S.C.A. Buys Shares of 29,672 Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 29,672 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $6,854,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RL. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,374,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $16,848,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $716,000. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 23,613 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $5,454,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,777,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on RL. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Argus raised Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.15.

Remove Ads

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of RL traded up $4.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $222.73. The company had a trading volume of 1,443,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 784,325. 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.09. The company has a market capitalization of $13.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. Research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.11%.

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