Vest Financial LLC Buys 35,016 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 177.9% in Q4, buying an additional 35,016 shares to hold 54,701 shares (about 0.09% of the company) valued at roughly $19,343,000.
• Several analysts raised price targets (BTIG to $435, Bank of America to $450, Evercore $420) and the stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $399.19.
• CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares for about $16.65 million, reducing his stake by 35.46%, while company insiders still own 38.34% of the stock.

Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 177.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,701 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 35,016 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Ralph Lauren worth $19,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 8,937.8% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 963,340 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $264,225,000 after purchasing an additional 952,681 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $86,719,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,841,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 137.1% in the 3rd 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. boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 190.3% in the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore set a $420.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $399.19.

Insider Activity at Ralph Lauren

In related news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 38.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $367.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.46. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52-week low of $214.23 and a 52-week high of $393.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.10. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $358.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $353.20.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during 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%. The company's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 16.25 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 presently 24.85%.

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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