Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,839 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,065,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of RL. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,324,018 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $468,186,000 after purchasing an additional 275,263 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,050,543 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $370,852,000 after purchasing an additional 54,686 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 8,937.8% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 963,340 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $264,225,000 after buying an additional 952,681 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 941,832 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $295,321,000 after buying an additional 98,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 895,017 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $316,487,000 after buying an additional 255,511 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on RL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $480.00 to $511.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research cut Ralph Lauren from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $430.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $428.29.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of RL opened at $412.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $370.49 and its 200-day moving average is $361.95. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 12-month low of $259.30 and a 12-month high of $421.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 18.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.16%.

Ralph Lauren Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men’s neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren’s product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.