Deutsche Bank AG Sells 18,844 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 9.6% in the first quarter, owning about 0.29% of the company valued at approximately $39 million after selling nearly 19,000 shares.
• Ralph Lauren reported $3.77 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.50 and reflecting a 13.7% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company recently announced a dividend increase to $0.9125 per share, representing a 1.2% yield, alongside a $1.50 billion share buyback program aimed at repurchasing up to 8.8% of its shares.

Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 177,129 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 18,844 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.29% of Ralph Lauren worth $39,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.4% in the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 1,367 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $360.00 target price (up from $321.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 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, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $306.41.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 0.2%

RL stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $290.88. The stock had a trading volume of 764,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,114. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $306.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $283.85 and a 200 day moving average of $257.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.53.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.50 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 10.91%. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

Ralph Lauren announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is 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.