Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Trims Stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,950 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 188 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $4,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Triglav Skladi D.O.O. purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,872,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth about $3,014,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 195,208 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $47,444,000 after acquiring an additional 14,889 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth about $2,264,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth about $6,872,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RL opened at $273.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1-year low of $155.96 and a 1-year high of $289.33. The company has a market capitalization of $16.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $244.51.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 31.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 28.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RL. Cfra Research lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.88.

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.