Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Shares Bought by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,360 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.05% of Ralph Lauren worth $7,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,237,512 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $285,841,000 after buying an additional 289,924 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 24,164.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 254,292 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $56,132,000 after buying an additional 253,244 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,415,473 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $326,946,000 after buying an additional 205,121 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the first quarter worth approximately $37,517,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 671.0% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 136,239 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $31,637,000 after purchasing an additional 118,569 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

NYSE:RL traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $290.07. 192,601 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 796,278. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a twelve month low of $155.96 and a twelve month high of $295.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock's 50-day moving average is $276.14 and its 200-day moving average is $250.79. The firm has a market cap of $17.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.49.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 31.76%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Ralph Lauren from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.88.

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.