Graham Capital Management L.P. Acquires New Shares in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,090 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,562,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter valued at $236,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,943 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 21,536 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $4,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth about $420,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 237,452 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $54,847,000 after acquiring an additional 3,787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas raised shares of Ralph Lauren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $282.00 to $219.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.29.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock traded up $4.98 on Friday, reaching $274.08. The stock had a trading volume of 245,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 839,485. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $221.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1 year low of $155.96 and a 1 year high of $289.33.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.11%.

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.