Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 52.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,160 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 7,324 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $4,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 93.7% during the first 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 during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake 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. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 446 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 347 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of RL traded up $1.96 on Thursday, hitting $286.65. 531,535 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 800,133. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1 year low of $155.96 and a 1 year high of $295.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock's 50 day moving average is $275.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.49.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 31.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. Ralph Lauren's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.9125 per share. 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. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is 31.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.88.

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.