M&T Bank Corp Purchases 72,176 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp dramatically increased its stake in Ralph Lauren in Q4, buying 72,176 shares (a 6,216.7% increase) and ending the period with 73,337 shares worth about $25.93 million (≈0.12% of the company).
• CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares on Feb 10 at an average price of $354.22, receiving about $16.65 million and reducing his ownership by 35.46%.
• Ralph Lauren beat Q4 estimates (EPS $6.22 vs $5.80; revenue $2.41B vs $2.30B), and several analysts raised price targets (Bank of America $450), leaving a consensus target around $399.19 and a prevailing "Moderate Buy" outlook.

M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 6,216.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,337 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 72,176 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp owned 0.12% of Ralph Lauren worth $25,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RL. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 8,937.8% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 963,340 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $264,225,000 after purchasing an additional 952,681 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter valued at $86,719,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter valued at $74,841,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 137.1% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 362,022 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $113,516,000 after purchasing an additional 209,330 shares during the period. Finally, Scopus Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 190.3% during the 3rd quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. now owns 221,500 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $69,454,000 after acquiring an additional 145,189 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ralph Lauren news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.22, for a total value of $16,648,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,304,229.44. The trade was a 35.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 38.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on RL shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Evercore set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $416.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $399.19.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Ralph Lauren stock opened at $375.13 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $22.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $358.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $351.62. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a twelve month low of $212.52 and a twelve month high of $393.41.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 37.97%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.82 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 16.25 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation NYSE: RL is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men's neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren's product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.

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