919 Shares in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 919 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Triglav Skladi D.O.O. bought a new position in Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter valued at $10,872,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,014,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 195,208 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $47,444,000 after acquiring an additional 14,889 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter worth about $2,264,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,872,000. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE RL traded down $3.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $278.07. 572,438 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 823,691. The company has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $236.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.23. 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 Co. has a one year low of $155.96 and a one year high of $289.33.

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.44%.

Ralph Lauren announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to reacquire up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $260.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Guggenheim raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren 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.