Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL Shares Purchased by Nomura Holdings Inc.

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its ownership in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 167.3%, acquiring an additional 2,212 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to 3,534 shares valued at approximately $780,000.
• Ralph Lauren reported $3.77 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates of $3.50, and showcased a year-over-year revenue increase of 13.7% to $1.72 billion.
• Analysts are optimistic about Ralph Lauren's prospects, with several raising their price targets, including Wells Fargo upping their target from $300 to $320 and JPMorgan from $355 to $406, reflecting a consensus price target of $306.41.

Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 167.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,534 shares of the textile maker's stock after buying an additional 2,212 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $780,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 168.0% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 1,563 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 3,863 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 7,469 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,461 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,490,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 130,164 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $30,065,000 after buying an additional 9,025 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $360.00 price target (up from $321.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $307.88.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock traded down $4.49 during trading on Monday, reaching $307.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 323,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 848,407. The firm's 50-day moving average is $292.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.70. The company has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52-week low of $169.93 and a 52-week high of $321.77.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to purchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.