Comerica Bank Increases Stock Position in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 138.5% during the first quarter, now owning 17,814 shares valued at approximately $3.93 million.
• Ralph Lauren reported $3.77 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 13.7% from the previous year.
• The company has approved a $1.50 billion stock buyback plan, reflecting management's belief that its stock is undervalued.

Comerica Bank raised its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 138.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,814 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 10,345 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $3,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RL. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 4.2% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 3.4% during the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,367 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 25.6% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 329 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ralph Lauren from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $360.00 price target (up from $321.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $306.41.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of RL stock traded up $2.05 on Wednesday, hitting $313.07. 514,014 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 854,747. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.84. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a one year low of $169.93 and a one year high of $317.34. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $290.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.60.

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

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.