Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Shares Sold by Absher Wealth Management LLC

Absher Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 23.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,509 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 33,006 shares during the period. Ralph Lauren comprises 3.1% of Absher Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Absher Wealth Management LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Ralph Lauren worth $23,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of RL. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,120,508 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $489,795,000 after acquiring an additional 70,544 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,415,473 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $326,946,000 after purchasing an additional 205,121 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,237,512 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $285,841,000 after purchasing an additional 289,924 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,079,578 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $249,361,000 after purchasing an additional 82,819 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 982,927 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $227,085,000 after buying an additional 65,303 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $260.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL stock traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $275.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 574,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,411. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company's 50 day moving average is $256.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.19. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $155.96 and a fifty-two week high of $289.33. The stock has a market cap of $16.59 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.51.

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. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.42%.

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.