Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Grows Holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,990 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RL. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $84,288,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 794,127 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $114,513,000 after acquiring an additional 331,413 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren during the third quarter valued at $24,890,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1,222.2% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 119,000 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $17,160,000 after acquiring an additional 110,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter worth $10,602,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on RL. StockNews.com upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Raymond James upped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.92.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RL opened at $165.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12 month low of $103.17 and a 12 month high of $192.03. The company has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $173.89 and its 200 day moving average is $152.27.

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

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.01%.

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.