Swedbank AB Has $44.20 Million Position in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• Swedbank AB cut its stake in Ralph Lauren by 28.6%, selling 50,000 shares and ending the quarter with 125,000 shares worth $44.20 million.
• Several large institutions (Invesco, Orion Portfolio Solutions, Qube, Ameriprise, Boston Partners) boosted holdings, leaving institutional investors with 67.91% ownership, while CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares and insiders now hold 38.34%.
• Ralph Lauren recently beat quarterly expectations (EPS $6.22 vs. $5.80; revenue $2.41B), pays a quarterly dividend of $0.9125 (1.0% yield), and has strong analyst support with an average price target of $400.31.

Swedbank AB cut its position in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 125,000 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 50,000 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned 0.21% of Ralph Lauren worth $44,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,048,755 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $328,848,000 after purchasing an additional 93,753 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8,937.8% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 963,340 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $264,225,000 after purchasing an additional 952,681 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 941,832 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $295,321,000 after purchasing an additional 98,511 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 756,203 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $207,417,000 after purchasing an additional 36,328 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 715,733 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $224,455,000 after purchasing an additional 14,953 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

NYSE:RL opened at $352.99 on Friday. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52 week low of $246.07 and a 52 week high of $393.41. The firm has a market cap of $21.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $357.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $354.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.42. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 37.97%. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.82 earnings per share. Ralph Lauren's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 16.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th were issued a $0.9125 dividend. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ralph Lauren news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,304,229.44. This trade represents a 35.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 38.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RL shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $416.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $477.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Argus raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ralph Lauren from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $400.31.

Ralph Lauren 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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