AGF Management Ltd. Buys New Stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

Key Points

• AGF Management Ltd. acquired 44,542 shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation during the first quarter, valued at approximately $9.83 million, and now owns 0.07% of the company.
• Several analysts have recently raised their price targets for Ralph Lauren's shares, with JPMorgan increasing its target from $355 to $406, reflecting positive sentiment on the stock.
• Ralph Lauren reported a 13.7% increase in revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share at $3.77, surpassing consensus estimates by $0.27 during its most recent quarterly earnings announcement.

AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 44,542 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $9,832,000. AGF Management Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Ralph Lauren at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 93.7% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 178.0% in the 1st quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 74.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 175.0% in the 1st quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

NYSE:RL traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $290.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 764,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 874,591. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $283.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.64. The stock has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.53. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 12-month low of $161.43 and a 12-month high of $306.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 10.91%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a $0.9125 dividend. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $306.41.

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.