Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Raises Stock Holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation by 5.1%, owning 26,756 shares valued at approximately $5.9 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Ralph Lauren recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.9125 per share, increasing from the previous $0.83, and launched a $1.50 billion share repurchase plan.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $2.27, exceeding expectations, and revenue of $1.70 billion, signaling an 8.3% increase compared to the previous year.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,756 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $5,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,557 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 775.5% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 44,766 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $10,340,000 after acquiring an additional 39,653 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 19,148 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $4,423,000 after purchasing an additional 4,879 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 10,189 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $2,353,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 10,585 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $2,445,000 after buying an additional 4,085 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL traded down $0.75 on Tuesday, hitting $300.97. 644,859 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 879,422. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $279.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $253.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.49. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $155.96 and a fifty-two week high of $303.64.

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

Ralph Lauren declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to reacquire up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $0.9125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is 31.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Cfra Research downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $298.13.

Ralph Lauren Company 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.