Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Shares Bought by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 265.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,797 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 5,665 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $1,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RL. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,338 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 281.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 202 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,084 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,777,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter worth $16,848,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ralph Lauren from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Cfra Research downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock traded up $5.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $279.52. 352,160 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 814,073. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $155.96 and a fifty-two week high of $289.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $265.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $246.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.49.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.9125 dividend. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is 31.44%.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to reacquire up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.