Scotia Capital Inc. Takes Position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. purchased 9,896 shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation, valued at approximately $2,184,000, marking a new position in the company during the first quarter.
• Ralph Lauren recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, raising it to $0.9125 per share, which represents an annualized rate of $3.65 and a dividend yield of 1.2%.
• The company also authorized a $1.50 billion share repurchase plan, indicating a belief from the board that the stock may be undervalued.

Scotia Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 9,896 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,184,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,237,512 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $285,841,000 after purchasing an additional 289,924 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 24,164.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,415,473 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $326,946,000 after purchasing an additional 205,121 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the first quarter valued at about $37,517,000. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter valued at about $20,788,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Ralph Lauren from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $335.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $355.00 to $406.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $306.41.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE RL traded up $5.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $288.58. 1,068,802 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 689,554. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $156.69 and a fifty-two week high of $306.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.41 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $282.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.47.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 10.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the textile maker to purchase up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is 31.44%.

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.