Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL Shares Bought by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 76.8%, acquiring an additional 968 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total holdings to 2,229 shares worth $492,000.
• Ralph Lauren reported earnings of $3.77 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with quarterly revenue rising 13.7% year-over-year to $1.72 billion.
• The company's Board of Directors authorized a $1.50 billion share repurchase plan, allowing the buyback of up to 8.8% of its shares, which often signals the stock may be undervalued.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 76.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,229 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 93.7% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 178.0% during 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. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 74.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 175.0% during the first quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $360.00 target price (up from $321.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $355.00 to $406.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $306.41.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 0.1%

RL stock traded up $0.4160 during trading on Friday, hitting $285.8760. 594,401 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 745,843. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1 year low of $167.32 and a 1 year high of $306.34.

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

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

About Ralph Lauren

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.