Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Nomura Holdings Inc. 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,322 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,978 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter valued at about $507,000. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,097 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $4,195,000 after acquiring an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on RL. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ralph Lauren from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group set a $384.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $258.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

NYSE RL traded down $1.22 on Wednesday, hitting $285.00. 91,100 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 965,988. The firm has a market cap of $17.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $230.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $236.59. Ralph Lauren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $155.96 and a fifty-two week high of $289.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.9125 dividend. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is 31.44%.

Ralph Lauren declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to reacquire up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.