Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 3,166 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 43.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,373 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,166 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $2,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RL. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 662 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth $286,000. Greenleaf Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,182 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,542 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE RL traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $274.86. 568,976 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 823,161. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 52-week low of $155.96 and a 52-week high of $289.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.58 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.76. The business's fifty day moving average price is $238.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.17.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 10.14%. Ralph Lauren's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.9125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $384.00 target price on Ralph Lauren and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Cfra Research cut Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.88.

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.