Panagora Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 4,206.3%, acquiring an additional 113,696 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 116,399 shares valued at $25.7 million.
• Ralph Lauren reported a 13.7% increase in revenue year-over-year, generating $1.72 billion and exceeding analysts' expectations with $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter.
• The company's Board of Directors authorized a $1.5 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating confidence that the stock may be undervalued, as it allows for reacquiring up to 8.8% of its shares.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 4,206.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,399 shares of the textile maker's stock after buying an additional 113,696 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.19% of Ralph Lauren worth $25,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 3.4% during the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,367 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 93.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 415 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 329 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RL traded up $2.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $313.07. 514,014 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 854,747. The company has a 50-day moving average of $290.15 and a 200-day moving average of $260.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.60. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52-week low of $169.93 and a 52-week high of $317.34.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the textile maker to reacquire up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RL has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $355.00 to $406.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ralph Lauren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (up previously from $321.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $306.41.

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.