Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Shares Purchased by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 40.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,933 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $1,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of RL. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,005 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,132 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,578 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 100,164 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $23,136,000 after acquiring an additional 35,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,557 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Cfra Research cut Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group set a $384.00 price target on Ralph Lauren and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $267.68 on Thursday. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $249.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.06, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.51. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a twelve month low of $155.96 and a twelve month high of $289.33.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to repurchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors 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 1.36%. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is 28.42%.

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.

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