Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL Shares Bought by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 12.2%, owning 109,420 shares valued at approximately $24.15 million after acquiring an additional 11,873 shares.
• Ralph Lauren reported earnings of $3.77 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $3.50, with revenue reaching $1.72 billion.
• The company has authorized a $1.50 billion share buyback plan, indicating leadership believes the stock is undervalued by allowing the repurchase of up to 8.8% of its shares.

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,420 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 11,873 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Ralph Lauren worth $24,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RL. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 168.0% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 1,563 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 3,863 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 7,469 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,461 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,490,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 130,164 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $30,065,000 after acquiring an additional 9,025 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $355.00 to $406.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $307.88.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:RL traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $309.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 459,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 848,037. The company has a market capitalization of $18.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.60. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 12 month low of $169.93 and a 12 month high of $321.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $293.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.91.

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

Ralph Lauren announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 leadership 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.