Weiss Asset Management LP Purchases New Position in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 10,640 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,660,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RL. Blueline Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on RL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $437.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.79.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of RL opened at $372.97 on Monday. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52-week low of $273.04 and a 52-week high of $421.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $383.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $367.11. The company has a market capitalization of $22.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 26.47%.

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.