First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 117,412 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 20.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 703,637 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 117,412 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $242,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,324,018 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $468,186,000 after acquiring an additional 275,263 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,050,543 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $370,852,000 after acquiring an additional 54,686 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in Ralph Lauren by 8,937.8% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 963,340 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $264,225,000 after acquiring an additional 952,681 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 941,832 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $295,321,000 after purchasing an additional 98,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 895,017 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $316,487,000 after purchasing an additional 255,511 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $387.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $382.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $366.94. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52-week low of $273.04 and a 52-week high of $421.60.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.27 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 18.33 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 26th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Ralph Lauren from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $480.00 to $511.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $430.79.

About Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men’s neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren’s product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.