Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $1.58 Million Position in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group cut its stake in Ralph Lauren by 55.7% in Q4 and now holds 4,477 shares valued at about $1.583 million.
• Ralph Lauren beat expectations last quarter with EPS $6.22 vs. $5.80 and revenue $2.41B (+12.2% YoY), and analysts maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $399.19 price target.
• CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares (~$16.65M), reducing his ownership by 35.46%, while institutional investors hold roughly 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 55.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,477 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 5,636 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $1,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 952,681 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the third quarter worth approximately $86,719,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the third quarter worth approximately $74,841,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 137.1% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 362,022 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $113,516,000 after buying an additional 209,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scopus Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 190.3% in the third quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. now owns 221,500 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $69,454,000 after buying an additional 145,189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on RL. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $425.00 to $410.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $416.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $399.19.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $386.78 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $356.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $350.29. The company has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1 year low of $198.62 and a 1 year high of $389.15.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 37.97%. Ralph Lauren's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.22, for a total value of $16,648,340.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 85,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,304,229.44. This trade represents a 35.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 38.34% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Company 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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