California State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

California State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,441 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 1,428 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.06% of Ralph Lauren worth $8,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 1,270.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 281.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 202 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 22,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd now owns 226 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 347 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

NYSE RL traded up $5.64 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $281.57. The company had a trading volume of 422,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,196. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.76. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1-year low of $155.96 and a 1-year high of $289.33. The company has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50 day moving average of $234.40 and a 200-day moving average of $238.66.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. Ralph Lauren's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.9125 dividend. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $260.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $384.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.