Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its Ralph Lauren stake by 8.4% in the first quarter, selling 3,274 shares and ending with 35,732 shares valued at about $12.3 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with 15 analysts rating RL a Buy and only three at Hold; the consensus target price is about $430.07, above the stock’s recent trading level.
• Ralph Lauren reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share from $0.91.

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 35,732 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 3,274 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.06% of Ralph Lauren worth $12,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8,937.8% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 963,340 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $264,225,000 after acquiring an additional 952,681 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,324,018 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $468,186,000 after purchasing an additional 275,263 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 895,017 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $316,487,000 after purchasing an additional 255,511 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 881,360 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $311,658,000 after purchasing an additional 245,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 70.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 586,225 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $207,295,000 after purchasing an additional 242,386 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut Ralph Lauren from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup upgraded Ralph Lauren from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $360.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $480.00 to $511.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $430.07.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

NYSE:RL opened at $398.18 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $375.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $364.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $23.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.34. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1-year low of $273.04 and a 1-year high of $421.60.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 18.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.47%.

Ralph Lauren Profile

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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