Simon Quick Advisors LLC Invests $348,000 in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,575 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RL. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,005 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,132 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 967 shares during the period. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 7,295 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,685,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,578 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of RL traded down $7.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $260.05. 919,437 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 823,995. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 52 week low of $155.96 and a 52 week high of $289.33. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $245.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.15. The firm has a market cap of $15.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.9125 dividend. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on RL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group set a $384.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $260.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Cfra Research downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren 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.