Ground Swell Capital LLC Purchases New Holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,021 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,237,512 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $285,841,000 after acquiring an additional 289,924 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,415,473 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $326,946,000 after purchasing an additional 205,121 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 671.0% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 136,239 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $31,637,000 after purchasing an additional 118,569 shares during the period. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,788,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,079,578 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $249,361,000 after purchasing an additional 82,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 1.0 %

Ralph Lauren stock opened at $248.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1-year low of $155.96 and a 1-year high of $289.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.55. The company has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 10.14%. Research analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $310.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Ralph Lauren from $282.00 to $219.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $272.14.

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.

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