New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 1,413 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,404 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 1,413 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.07% of Ralph Lauren worth $9,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 93.7% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 17.6% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 415 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 446 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 347 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,307,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on RL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group set a $384.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $260.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Ralph Lauren stock traded up $5.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $279.52. The company had a trading volume of 352,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,029. 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 52 week low of $155.96 and a 52 week high of $289.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $265.51 and a 200-day moving average of $246.85. The firm has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.49.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 31.76%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.9125 dividend. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. 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 declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.