Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Decreases Stock Position in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has reduced its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 25.0%, selling 23,000 shares, and now holds approximately 0.11% of the company's stock, valued at about $15.25 million.
• Ralph Lauren reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.50, with revenue rising 13.7% year-over-year to $1.72 billion.
• Analysts have set a new price target for Ralph Lauren, with Needham raising it to $335 and UBS increasing it to $404, while the average price target is now at $306.41.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 25.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,100 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 23,000 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.11% of Ralph Lauren worth $15,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RL. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,367 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 93.7% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 17.6% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 415 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 25.6% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 329 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on RL shares. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $385.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $306.41.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 2.7%

Ralph Lauren stock traded down $8.74 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $312.01. The stock had a trading volume of 628,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,450. The company has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.60. The business's 50 day moving average price is $292.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.70. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52 week low of $169.93 and a 52 week high of $321.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the textile maker to repurchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management 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.