Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $33.39 Million Stock Position in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,424 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 8,759 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.16% of Ralph Lauren worth $33,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,762 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,688,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.1% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,114 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 0.4% during the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,311 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,920,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 179 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1.1% during the third quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,013,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.22, for a total transaction of $16,648,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,304,229.44. This represents a 35.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 38.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:RL opened at $327.66 on Friday. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1 year low of $176.61 and a 1 year high of $389.15. The company has a market capitalization of $19.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $354.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $344.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 37.97% and a net margin of 11.73%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.82 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a $0.9125 dividend. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is presently 24.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $422.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Evercore set a $420.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $391.56.

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.