UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Sells 11,499 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• UBS AM reduced its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 3.7%, selling 11,499 shares, and now owns approximately 0.49% of the company valued at $66.17 million.
• Several analysts have revised their ratings and target prices for Ralph Lauren, with Wells Fargo raising the target price to $345.00 and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Ralph Lauren announced a quarterly dividend of $0.9125 per share and initiated a share buyback plan authorizing repurchases up to $1.5 billion.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 299,775 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 11,499 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.49% of Ralph Lauren worth $66,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 39.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 3,369 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the first quarter worth approximately $997,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 0.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,334 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $2,723,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the first quarter worth approximately $312,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the first quarter worth approximately $699,000. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Cfra Research raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $308.76.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL opened at $315.23 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $296.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $262.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.60. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1 year low of $176.61 and a 1 year high of $321.77.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 10.91%.The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. Ralph Lauren's revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.15%.

Ralph Lauren declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to purchase up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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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