CWA Asset Management Group LLC Grows Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 31.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,913 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,880 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $2,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,139,975 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $221,007,000 after purchasing an additional 137,631 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 949,512 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $183,787,000 after buying an additional 30,694 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 158.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 863,336 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $149,478,000 after buying an additional 528,778 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 10.2% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 839,296 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $162,714,000 after buying an additional 78,008 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 520,393 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $100,889,000 after acquiring an additional 60,610 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

NYSE RL traded down $0.51 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $242.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 609,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 664,481. Ralph Lauren Co. has a twelve month low of $134.90 and a twelve month high of $245.92. The firm has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.49. The business's fifty day moving average price is $221.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.72.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 29.44% and a net margin of 10.15%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is currently 31.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RL. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Ralph Lauren from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $226.27.

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.