Stonegate Investment Group LLC Makes New $240,000 Investment in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,038 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.4% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,657 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 2,703 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,687 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 672 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,274 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

RL traded up $1.53 during trading on Thursday, hitting $258.34. 551,145 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 668,807. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1-year low of $142.26 and a 1-year high of $260.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $233.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $201.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.49.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 29.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. Ralph Lauren's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on RL shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of Ralph Lauren to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Cfra set a $171.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $244.91.

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.