Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 28.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,475 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 3,750 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $2,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 93.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1,270.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 178.0% in the first quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 281.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 202 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 22,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd now owns 226 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

NYSE:RL opened at $263.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $252.24 and a 200 day moving average of $243.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1-year low of $155.96 and a 1-year high of $289.33.

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.9125 dividend. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.44%.

Ralph Lauren announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to purchase up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RL has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group set a $384.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Company 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.

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