KBC Group NV Sells 15,488 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

KBC Group NV cut its position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 56.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,012 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 15,488 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $2,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Triglav Skladi D.O.O. bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter valued at $10,872,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth about $3,014,000. Amundi raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 195,208 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $47,444,000 after buying an additional 14,889 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. bought a new position in Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,264,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,872,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

NYSE RL traded up $5.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $279.52. 352,160 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 814,073. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 12-month low of $155.96 and a 12-month high of $289.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $246.15. The company has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.49.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 31.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for 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 business's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to purchase up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.9125 dividend. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RL. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group set a $384.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America raised 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. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.