Vanguard Group Inc. Has $1.08 Billion Stock Holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,885,518 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 335,244 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 7.91% of Ralph Lauren worth $1,078,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 43,370 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $10,018,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 962.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 680 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,836 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $3,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 83,753 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $19,345,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter worth $1,054,000. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cfra Research raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $355.00 to $406.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (up previously from $321.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $306.41.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RL traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $290.44. 167,700 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 872,082. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $283.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $257.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $17.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.53. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52 week low of $161.43 and a 52 week high of $306.34.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. Ralph Lauren's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a $0.9125 dividend. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is presently 29.15%.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.