Raymond James Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 11.1%, owning approximately 0.13% of the company with shares valued at $17.89 million.
• Ralph Lauren recently reported earnings of $3.77 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company's Board of Directors approved a $1.50 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating a belief that the stock is undervalued.

Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 11.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 81,043 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 8,102 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.13% of Ralph Lauren worth $17,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 74.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 175.0% during the 1st quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on RL shares. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $385.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $306.41.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of RL stock traded down $0.56 on Monday, hitting $297.08. 578,753 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 727,403. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $288.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.60. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a twelve month low of $168.24 and a twelve month high of $306.34.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.50 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.65 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The company's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the textile maker to purchase up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management 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.