Prudential Financial Inc. Has $22.15 Million Stock Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 95,873 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,879 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $22,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 492,787 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $95,537,000 after acquiring an additional 13,640 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 70.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,436 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 5,133 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,848 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 32,465 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $6,294,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL opened at $228.69 on Thursday. Ralph Lauren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $155.96 and a fifty-two week high of $289.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $251.76 and a 200 day moving average of $225.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market cap of $14.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. On average, research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is presently 30.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on RL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $280.00 to $286.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $257.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.62.

Ralph Lauren Profile

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, floor coverings, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, dining, decorative accessories, and giftware; and fragrances.