PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Invests $924,000 in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,000 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $924,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,274 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 662 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 108.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 27,500 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $6,352,000 after purchasing an additional 14,307 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $240,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

RL traded down $1.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $276.71. The stock had a trading volume of 666,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 828,097. The firm has a market cap of $17.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12 month low of $155.96 and a 12 month high of $289.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.82.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. Analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to reacquire up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is presently 31.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $260.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.88.

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.