Merlin Capital Inc Sells 231 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Merlin Capital Inc lowered its holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,292 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 231 shares during the quarter. Ralph Lauren makes up approximately 2.4% of Merlin Capital Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Merlin Capital Inc’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 71.6% during the 4th 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 period. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $84,288,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 472,234 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $54,822,000 after acquiring an additional 19,814 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 472,046 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $54,800,000 after acquiring an additional 23,441 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 442,295 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $51,346,000 after acquiring an additional 28,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock traded down $2.12 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $164.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 214,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 981,138. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 52-week low of $103.17 and a 52-week high of $192.03. The company has a market cap of $10.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $176.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.03. 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 (NYSE:RL) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $132.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.92.

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.