PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Makes New Investment in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,061 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,815,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in RL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 5.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,432 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 0.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,334 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,723,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 39.5% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 3,369 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 29.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,812 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the second quarter worth approximately $386,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE RL opened at $354.50 on Tuesday. 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 has a market cap of $21.46 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $357.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $353.79. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52 week low of $230.63 and a 52 week high of $393.41.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 37.97%. Ralph Lauren’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 16.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of Ralph Lauren 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,552 shares in the company, valued at $30,304,229.44. This trade represents a 35.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 38.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on RL shares. Argus upped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $416.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore set a $420.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $399.19.

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.