Spire Wealth Management Raises Holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 709.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,692 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,483 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management's holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 93.7% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 415 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 446 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 347 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of RL stock opened at $276.40 on Monday. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52-week low of $155.96 and a 52-week high of $289.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $16.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.10.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.71 EPS. Ralph Lauren's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to reacquire up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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 issued a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cfra Research cut shares of Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group set a $384.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ralph Lauren from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.88.

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.

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