Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Shares Purchased by ING Groep NV

Key Points

• ING Groep NV significantly increased its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 288.9%, ending the first quarter with 20,069 shares valued at approximately $4.43 million.
• Ralph Lauren has received multiple upgrades from analysts, with target prices rising, notably from $250 to $335, reflecting a generally positive outlook on the stock.
• The company approved a $1.50 billion share repurchase program to buy back approximately 8.8% of its outstanding shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

ING Groep NV grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 288.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,069 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 14,908 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $4,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of RL. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the first quarter valued at $248,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 13.5% during the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 22,590 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $4,987,000 after buying an additional 2,684 shares during the period. Triglav Skladi D.O.O. purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter valued at $10,872,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 7.8% during the first quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 300,837 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $66,407,000 after buying an additional 21,681 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 237,479 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $52,421,000 after buying an additional 17,732 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE RL traded up $5.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $288.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,068,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 689,554. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.53. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $282.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.47. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $156.69 and a fifty-two week high of $306.34.

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

Ralph Lauren announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RL has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $335.00 price objective (up previously from $310.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $306.41.

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.