Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 91,185 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,735,743 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 91,185 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Ralph Lauren worth $1,674,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 973 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Broad Peak Investment Advisers Pte Ltd grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Broad Peak Investment Advisers Pte Ltd now owns 27,026 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $9,557,000 after acquiring an additional 7,900 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 165.6% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 162 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,387 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, waypoint wealth counsel bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth $295,000. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

NYSE RL opened at $359.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.75 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.46. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52 week low of $223.56 and a 52 week high of $393.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $357.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $353.29.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 37.97%. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.82 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 16.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th were issued a dividend of $0.9125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is 24.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $416.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $425.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $435.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $399.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ralph Lauren

In related news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.22, for a total value of $16,648,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,304,229.44. This represents a 35.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 38.34% of the company’s stock.

About Ralph Lauren

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.