Two Sigma Investments LP Trims Stock Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Two Sigma Investments LP trimmed its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 49.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,976 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 64,472 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned about 0.11% of Ralph Lauren worth $15,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,120,508 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $489,795,000 after purchasing an additional 70,544 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,415,473 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $326,946,000 after buying an additional 205,121 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,237,512 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $285,841,000 after buying an additional 289,924 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,079,578 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $249,361,000 after buying an additional 82,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 982,927 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $227,085,000 after acquiring an additional 65,303 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

NYSE:RL opened at $277.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $17.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $227.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.10. Ralph Lauren Co. has a twelve month low of $155.96 and a twelve month high of $289.33.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is 30.11%.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on RL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $262.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. BNP Paribas upgraded Ralph Lauren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ralph Lauren from $282.00 to $219.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Cfra Research downgraded Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $258.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.29.

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.

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