Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL Shares Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 11% in the fourth quarter, buying 7,296 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 73,457 shares valued at about $26.1 million.
• Ralph Lauren’s recent quarterly results beat expectations, with earnings of $2.80 per share on revenue of $1.98 billion, while sales rose 16.6% year over year. Analysts now expect the company to earn 18.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share from $0.91, and Wall Street remains constructive on the stock with 15 Buy ratings, a consensus Moderate Buy, and an average price target of $430.07.

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 73,457 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 7,296 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.12% of Ralph Lauren worth $26,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,324,018 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $468,186,000 after buying an additional 275,263 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,050,543 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $370,852,000 after buying an additional 54,686 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8,937.8% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 963,340 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $264,225,000 after buying an additional 952,681 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 11.7% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 941,832 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $295,321,000 after acquiring an additional 98,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 895,017 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $316,487,000 after acquiring an additional 255,511 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on RL. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $437.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $360.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $430.07.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Ralph Lauren stock opened at $396.71 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $376.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $365.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.13. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a one year low of $273.04 and a one year high of $421.60.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.28. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 11.60%.The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.27 EPS. Ralph Lauren's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 18.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is currently 26.47%.

About Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren Corporation NYSE: RL is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men's neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren's product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.

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