Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Sells 117,966 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation by **24.5%**, currently holding 363,330 shares valued at approximately **$80.2 million**.
• Ralph Lauren reported **$3.77 earnings per share** for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of **$3.50**, while also achieving a **13.7% year-over-year revenue increase** to **$1.72 billion**.
• The company announced a stock buyback plan allowing for the repurchase of up to **$1.5 billion** in shares, indicating the board's belief that the company's shares are undervalued.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 24.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 363,330 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 117,966 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.59% of Ralph Lauren worth $80,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter worth about $248,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 22,590 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $4,987,000 after buying an additional 2,684 shares during the last quarter. Triglav Skladi D.O.O. acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter worth about $10,872,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 300,837 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $66,407,000 after buying an additional 21,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 237,479 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $52,421,000 after buying an additional 17,732 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $289.78. 668,093 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 872,806. The stock has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.15, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.53. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $284.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $257.88. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 12 month low of $163.80 and a 12 month high of $306.34.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. The firm's revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is presently 29.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (up previously from $321.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $306.41.

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.