Patton Fund Management Inc. Grows Stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 2,184.8% in Q4 to 22,848 shares (worth $8.08M), making RL ~1.1% of the fund and its 20th-largest holding, while institutional investors own about 67.91% of the stock.
• CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares on Feb 10 for roughly $16.65M (avg $354.22), reducing his ownership by 35.46% to 85,552 shares; insiders hold 38.34% of the company.
• Ralph Lauren beat Q4 estimates with EPS $6.22 vs $5.80 and revenue $2.41B (up 12.2% YoY), announced a quarterly dividend that annualizes to $3.65 (1.0% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $391.56 price target.

Patton Fund Management Inc. grew its position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 2,184.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,848 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 21,848 shares during the quarter. Ralph Lauren comprises approximately 1.1% of Patton Fund Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $8,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ralph Lauren news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of Ralph Lauren 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 85,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,304,229.44. The trade was a 35.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 38.34% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE RL opened at $377.04 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $354.47 and a 200 day moving average of $348.78. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1 year low of $196.57 and a 1 year high of $389.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.42. The company 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 quarterly revenue 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 forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. 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 research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $435.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $391.56.

Ralph Lauren 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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