Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Stock Holdings Lessened by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 1.4%, holding approximately 486,979 shares valued at about $107.50 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Multiple analysts have increased their price targets for Ralph Lauren, with Goldman Sachs raising it from $262 to $324, reflecting strong optimism about the company's performance.
• Ralph Lauren recently declared a dividend of $0.9125 per share, an increase from the previous $0.83, demonstrating a positive change in its financial outlook and sustainability.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 486,979 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 6,889 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.79% of Ralph Lauren worth $107,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RL. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 178.0% during the first quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 74.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 175.0% during the first quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 0.2%

RL traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $290.88. 764,210 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 744,820. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $284.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $257.87. The company has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.53. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $161.43 and a fifty-two week high of $306.34. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to purchase up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid 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 was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Ralph Lauren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $306.41.

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.