Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Sells 3,120 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lowered its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 49.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,132 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 3,120 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $260.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RL traded down $2.08 on Monday, reaching $274.27. 603,527 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 814,962. 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 $155.96 and a twelve month high of $289.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $260.64 and a 200-day moving average of $245.43. The company has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.51.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.44%.

Ralph Lauren announced that its board has authorized a stock 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 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.