Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 4,822 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 219.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,016 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,822 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $1,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 93.7% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1,270.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 281.1% during 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. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 22,500.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 74.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:RL traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $274.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 568,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 823,161. Ralph Lauren Co. has a twelve month low of $155.96 and a twelve month high of $289.33. The stock has a market cap of $16.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $238.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $240.17.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 10.14%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.9125 dividend. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on RL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.88.

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.