Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in Tapestry, Inc. (NYSE:TPR)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Tapestry, Inc. (NYSE:TPR - Free Report) by 89.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,082 shares of the luxury accessories retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 10,879 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Tapestry were worth $1,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TPR. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Tapestry by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,092,843 shares of the luxury accessories retailer's stock worth $527,799,000 after buying an additional 370,784 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Tapestry by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,997,414 shares of the luxury accessories retailer's stock worth $522,471,000 after buying an additional 382,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Tapestry by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,765,596 shares of the luxury accessories retailer's stock worth $376,247,000 after buying an additional 176,717 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Tapestry by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,137,521 shares of the luxury accessories retailer's stock worth $270,304,000 after buying an additional 546,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Tapestry by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,815,081 shares of the luxury accessories retailer's stock worth $183,909,000 after buying an additional 83,222 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tapestry Stock Performance

Shares of TPR opened at $79.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $72.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The company has a market capitalization of $16.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.46. Tapestry, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.23 and a 52-week high of $90.85.

Tapestry (NYSE:TPR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The luxury accessories retailer reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Tapestry had a return on equity of 44.00% and a net margin of 11.74%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Tapestry, Inc. will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tapestry Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Tapestry's payout ratio is currently 36.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Manesh Dadlani sold 1,399 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.88, for a total transaction of $114,550.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 40,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,350,693.36. This trade represents a 3.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Todd Kahn sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.40, for a total value of $3,256,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 116,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,447,446.80. This represents a 25.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on TPR shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Tapestry from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Tapestry from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Tapestry from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Tapestry from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Tapestry in a report on Friday, May 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tapestry presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.89.

Tapestry Company Profile

Tapestry, Inc provides luxury accessories and branded lifestyle products in the United States, Japan, Greater China, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman. It offers women's handbags; and women's accessories, such as small leather goods which includes mini and micro handbags, money pieces, wristlets, pouches, and cosmetic cases, as well as novelty accessories including address books, time management and travel accessories, sketchbooks, and portfolios; and belts, key rings, and charms.

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