Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL – Get Rating) by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 85,944 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,377 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $7,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the third quarter valued at about $68,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 89.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 916 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the first quarter valued at about $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on RL. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Credit Suisse Group upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Bank of America upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $130.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 13th. Wedbush upped their target price on Ralph Lauren to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.86.

Insider Transactions at Ralph Lauren

In other news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 18,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $2,312,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 202,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,291,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 36.56% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RL opened at $110.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $119.29 and a 200 day moving average of $105.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.08. Ralph Lauren Co. has a one year low of $82.23 and a one year high of $128.94.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The textile maker reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 22.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 8.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 29th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.27%.

About Ralph Lauren

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Ralph Lauren Corp. engages in the design, marketing, and distribution of premium lifestyle products. The firm offers apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and other licensed products. It operates through the following segments: North America, Europe, and Asia. The North America segment consists of sales of Ralph Lauren branded apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and related products made through the Company’s wholesale and retail businesses in the U.S.