Erste Asset Management GmbH Has $13.12 Million Stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 34.7%, holding 61,300 shares valued at approximately $13.1 million.
• Ralph Lauren reported earnings of $3.77 per share for the quarter, exceeding estimates of $3.50, with a 13.7% revenue increase year-over-year, totaling $1.72 billion.
• The company has authorized a share buyback program of $1.5 billion, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 34.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,300 shares of the textile maker's stock after buying an additional 15,800 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.10% of Ralph Lauren worth $13,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 93.7% in the 1st 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. Sentry Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 178.0% in the 1st quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 180.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 171 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 74.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $355.00 to $406.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Two 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $306.41.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:RL traded up $0.4160 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $285.8760. 594,401 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 745,843. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $259.14. 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 fifty-two week low of $167.32 and a fifty-two week high of $306.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.53.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the textile maker to reacquire up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are 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.