Boston Partners Increases Stock Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 67.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,214,000 shares of the textile maker's stock after buying an additional 487,882 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned 1.88% of Ralph Lauren worth $175,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 66,083 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $9,529,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 4,292 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,313 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank bought a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth about $360,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 474,332 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $68,399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Raymond James upped their price target on Ralph Lauren from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.08.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

RL traded down $1.56 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $165.59. The company had a trading volume of 803,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 966,775. The business has a 50-day moving average of $172.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1 year low of $103.17 and a 1 year high of $192.03. The company has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.55.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The textile maker reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.53 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The firm's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.35 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Ralph Lauren's payout ratio is presently 34.01%.

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, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, and giftware; and fragrances.

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