Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 16,575 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 24.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,545 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 16,575 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Ralph Lauren worth $17,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 12,493.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,002,344 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $175,470,000 after acquiring an additional 994,385 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 158.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 863,336 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $149,478,000 after purchasing an additional 528,778 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 42.2% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 638,502 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $111,760,000 after purchasing an additional 189,600 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3,520.3% during the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 120,231 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $21,047,000 after buying an additional 116,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,320,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on RL shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $223.90.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL stock traded up $7.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $230.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,628,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 846,744. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $214.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.50. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1 year low of $134.90 and a 1 year high of $237.16.

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

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is 31.46%.

About Ralph Lauren

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.