Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 1,222.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 119,000 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 110,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $17,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 99.2% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 47.9% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 119.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 343 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 576 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 2.2 %

RL stock opened at $161.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $177.85 and a 200 day moving average of $148.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 52 week low of $103.17 and a 52 week high of $192.03.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The textile maker reported $4.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.53 by $0.64. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.35 EPS. Ralph Lauren’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on RL shares. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $132.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.64.

About Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren Corporation designs, markets, and distributes lifestyle products in North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers apparel, including a range of men's, women's, and children's clothing; footwear and accessories, which comprise casual shoes, dress shoes, boots, sneakers, sandals, eyewear, watches, fashion and fine jewelry, scarves, hats, gloves, and umbrellas, as well as leather goods, such as handbags, luggage, small leather goods, and belts; home products consisting of bed and bath lines, furniture, fabric and wallcoverings, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, and giftware; and fragrances.