GAM Holding AG Sells 9,350 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

GAM Holding AG cut its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,050 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 9,350 shares during the period. Ralph Lauren makes up 1.0% of GAM Holding AG's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. GAM Holding AG owned 0.09% of Ralph Lauren worth $12,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,005 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 83.0% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,132 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,578 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 100,164 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $23,136,000 after purchasing an additional 35,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,557 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on RL. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $260.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Ralph Lauren stock traded down $4.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $263.78. 1,202,500 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 818,676. The company's fifty day moving average is $252.24 and its 200-day moving average is $243.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.78. The firm has a market cap of $15.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.51. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52 week low of $155.96 and a 52 week high of $289.33.

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.9125 dividend. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.42%.

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