Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 1,678 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,690 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 1,678 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $6,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RL. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,274 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 662 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 108.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 27,500 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $6,352,000 after buying an additional 14,307 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $286,000. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RL traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $276.71. 666,863 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 828,086. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $233.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.82. Ralph Lauren Co. has a one year low of $155.96 and a one year high of $289.33. The stock has a market cap of $17.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. Ralph Lauren's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RL has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group set a $384.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Company 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.