VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 14,283 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,918,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RL. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 180.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 171 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 189.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 171 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE RL opened at $332.72 on Tuesday. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $176.61 and a fifty-two week high of $333.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $308.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.13. The stock has a market cap of $20.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.61.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.50 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 10.91%.The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th were issued a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 26th. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on RL shares. BTIG Research started coverage on Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Ralph Lauren from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $333.94.

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.