BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $37.78 Million Stock Position in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 31.5%, owning 171,141 shares valued at approximately $37.78 million after a recent acquisition.
• Ralph Lauren reported $3.77 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.50 and showing a year-over-year revenue growth of 13.7%.
• The company has approved a $1.5 billion share buyback program, indicating the board's belief that the shares are undervalued.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 31.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,141 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 40,977 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.28% of Ralph Lauren worth $37,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 22.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,512,903 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $333,958,000 after acquiring an additional 275,391 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 24,164.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 254,292 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $56,132,000 after purchasing an additional 253,244 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in Ralph Lauren during the first quarter worth about $37,517,000. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in Ralph Lauren by 8,741.2% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 123,600 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $27,283,000 after buying an additional 122,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the first quarter valued at approximately $23,520,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL traded up $2.05 on Wednesday, hitting $313.07. 514,014 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 698,299. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $290.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.62. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 12 month low of $169.93 and a 12 month high of $317.34.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren announced that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Ralph Lauren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (up from $321.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $306.41.

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.