Bridgewater Associates LP Raises Stock Holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 145.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 59,927 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 35,550 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $11,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 86.6% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 222 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 1,775.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the third quarter valued at about $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Cfra set a $171.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.90.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $222.67 on Friday. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1 year low of $125.25 and a 1 year high of $237.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $202.25 and its 200 day moving average is $183.48. The stock has a market cap of $13.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 29.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is 31.46%.

Ralph Lauren Company 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.