Empowered Funds LLC Sells 9,962 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 24.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,629 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 9,962 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.05% of Ralph Lauren worth $10,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RL. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 8,937.8% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 963,340 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $264,225,000 after purchasing an additional 952,681 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,324,018 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $468,186,000 after buying an additional 275,263 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 895,017 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $316,487,000 after buying an additional 255,511 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 881,360 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $311,658,000 after buying an additional 245,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 70.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 586,225 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $207,295,000 after buying an additional 242,386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 2.7%

NYSE RL opened at $385.83 on Friday. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52 week low of $273.04 and a 52 week high of $421.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $387.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $367.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $22.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.34.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.28. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.27 earnings per share. Ralph Lauren’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 18.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $480.00 to $511.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $430.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.79.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

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.