CCM Investment Group LLC Makes New $584,000 Investment in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

Key Points

• CCM Investment Group LLC invested $584,000 in Ralph Lauren Corporation, acquiring 2,708 shares during the first quarter.
• Ralph Lauren reported earnings of $3.77 per share, surpassing estimates, with a net margin of 10.91% and revenue growth of 13.7% year-over-year.
• The company has authorized a stock buyback program of up to $1.50 billion, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

CCM Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,708 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $584,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 93.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 178.0% during the 1st quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 74.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 175.0% during the 1st quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $306.41.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE RL traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $290.36. 393,083 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 873,314. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $161.43 and a twelve month high of $306.34. The company has a market cap of $17.51 billion, a PE ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.53. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $283.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.64.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.50 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 10.91%. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.15%.

Ralph Lauren declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.