Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Holdings Raised by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 481,109 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 6,981 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.77% of Ralph Lauren worth $111,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RL. Burney Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter worth $5,711,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth about $3,014,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 195,208 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $47,444,000 after purchasing an additional 14,889 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,264,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 11,913 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $2,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,880 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on RL shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $275.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $282.00 to $219.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Ralph Lauren to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $272.14.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL traded down $0.31 during trading on Thursday, reaching $224.65. The stock had a trading volume of 441,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 839,681. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1-year low of $155.96 and a 1-year high of $289.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $223.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $228.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.11%.

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.