Virtu Financial LLC Reduces Stock Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Virtu Financial LLC decreased its position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 36.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,607 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 1,464 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RL. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 67.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,214,000 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $175,001,000 after purchasing an additional 487,882 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter worth about $18,944,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 251.5% during the 4th quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 12,330 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,778,000 after acquiring an additional 8,822 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 71.9% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 80,043 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $11,542,000 after acquiring an additional 33,489 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 63,743 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $11,968,000 after acquiring an additional 6,378 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ralph Lauren

In related news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.25, for a total transaction of $11,515,363.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 44,591 shares in the company, valued at $7,636,208.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 4.8 %

NYSE:RL opened at $164.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.51. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 52 week low of $108.60 and a 52 week high of $192.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $176.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.47.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The textile maker reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.06. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 9.75%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Wednesday. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.42.

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