Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 9.1% in the first quarter, and several other hedge funds also raised their holdings. Institutional investors now own about 67.91% of the stock.
• Ralph Lauren shares were up 3.7% and opened at $388.00, giving the company a market cap of $23.09 billion. The stock has traded between $273.04 and $421.60 over the past year.
• The company posted better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, with EPS of $2.80 versus estimates of $2.52 and revenue of $1.98 billion, up 16.6% year over year. Ralph Lauren also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.00 from $0.91.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,486 shares of the textile maker's stock after buying an additional 3,044 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Ralph Lauren worth $12,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 13.9% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,378 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 33.8% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,203 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,098 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,538,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the period. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension now owns 73,760 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $25,373,000 after purchasing an additional 8,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 8,892 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $3,059,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $388.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $379.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $366.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a twelve month low of $273.04 and a twelve month high of $421.60.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.28. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 11.60%.The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.27 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 18.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 26th. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup upgraded Ralph Lauren from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $430.07.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation NYSE: RL is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men's neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren's product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.

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