AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 1,272 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 30.3%, now owning 5,474 shares valued at approximately $1.21 million.
• The company reported earnings of $3.77 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting a 13.7% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Ralph Lauren's board has authorized a stock buyback program of $1.5 billion, indicating confidence in the company's valuation.

AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 30.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,474 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,272 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $1,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 3.4% in 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,512,903 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $333,958,000 after acquiring an additional 275,391 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 942,720 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $217,750,000 after acquiring an additional 13,551 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 565,687 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $124,870,000 after acquiring an additional 79,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 481,109 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $111,133,000 after buying an additional 6,981 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RL has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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 report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $355.00 to $406.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 target price (up from $321.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $306.41.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 1.0%

Ralph Lauren stock traded up $3.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $297.67. The company had a trading volume of 431,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 857,429. The firm has a market cap of $18.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.84. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1 year low of $168.24 and a 1 year high of $306.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $287.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.65.

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

Ralph Lauren announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the textile maker to repurchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Company 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.