World Investment Advisors Makes New $245,000 Investment in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,108 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in RL. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 93.7% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 178.0% in the 1st quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1,270.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 281.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 202 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 22,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd now owns 226 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on RL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group set a $384.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL opened at $287.00 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $271.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.78. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1 year low of $155.96 and a 1 year high of $295.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.49.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 31.76%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

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 given a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is 31.44%.

Ralph Lauren declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the textile maker to purchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership 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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