Vestcor Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 116.6% in Q1, owning 2,827 shares valued at $624,000.
• Ralph Lauren reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.27, surpassing analyst estimates of $2.00, with revenue at $1.70 billion.
• The company announced a $1.50 billion stock repurchase plan, allowing it to buy back up to 8.8% of its shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Vestcor Inc grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 116.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,827 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,120,508 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $489,795,000 after acquiring an additional 70,544 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Ralph Lauren by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,415,473 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $326,946,000 after buying an additional 205,121 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,237,512 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $285,841,000 after buying an additional 289,924 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 968,776 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $223,513,000 after acquiring an additional 19,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 942,720 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $217,750,000 after purchasing an additional 13,551 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 1.5%

RL stock traded down $4.62 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $299.83. 766,628 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 585,275. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a twelve month low of $156.69 and a twelve month high of $306.34. The firm's 50 day moving average is $281.43 and its 200 day moving average is $255.25. The firm has a market cap of $18.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.53.

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. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 10.49%. Ralph Lauren's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.9125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.44%.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the textile maker to purchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RL has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cfra Research lowered Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Ralph Lauren from $260.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $303.00.

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.