1,040 Shares in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Bought by Praxis Investment Management Inc.

Praxis Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,040 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of RL. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 30.6% during 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 24,164.5% during the 1st 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 grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,415,473 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $326,946,000 after acquiring an additional 205,121 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,517,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 671.0% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 136,239 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $31,637,000 after acquiring an additional 118,569 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Ralph Lauren stock traded up $3.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $276.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 619,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 816,988. 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 has a market cap of $16.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.51. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52 week low of $155.96 and a 52 week high of $289.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $257.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $244.51.

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

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.9125 dividend. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.88.

About Ralph Lauren

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.