Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Stock Holdings Lessened by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 15.6%, resulting in current holdings worth approximately $1.69 million.
• Several analysts have updated their ratings on Ralph Lauren, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $303.00.
• Ralph Lauren announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.9125 and initiated a $1.5 billion share buyback plan, reflecting investor confidence in the company's valuation.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,644 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 1,410 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $1,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,237,512 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $285,841,000 after buying an additional 289,924 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 24,164.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 254,292 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $56,132,000 after purchasing an additional 253,244 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,415,473 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $326,946,000 after purchasing an additional 205,121 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,517,000. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC bought a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth about $20,788,000. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of RL traded up $5.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $288.58. 1,068,802 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 689,554. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $17.41 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $256.47. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a one year low of $156.69 and a one year high of $306.34.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.65 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 10.91%. Ralph Lauren's revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a $0.9125 dividend. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is currently 31.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $355.00 to $406.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $335.00 price target (up previously from $310.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Cfra Research downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren currently 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.