Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Shares Bought by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 88.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,641 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 52,714 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.18% of Ralph Lauren worth $26,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Burney Co. acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth about $5,711,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,014,000. Amundi grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 195,208 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $47,444,000 after buying an additional 14,889 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth $2,264,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 11,913 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $2,752,000 after acquiring an additional 2,880 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $275.00 to $240.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James lowered Ralph Lauren from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $310.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $277.43.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 2.9 %

Ralph Lauren stock traded down $6.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $200.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 134,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 842,079. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $228.13. The company has a market cap of $12.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.38. Ralph Lauren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $155.96 and a fifty-two week high of $289.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.