Boston Common Asset Management LLC Sells 3,107 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Boston Common Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,116 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 3,107 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $9,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of RL. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 18.6% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 32,362 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $10,147,000 after purchasing an additional 5,075 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 265,601 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $83,282,000 after buying an additional 18,355 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter valued at $899,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter valued at $86,719,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 159.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 10,113 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,171,000 after buying an additional 6,213 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 0.2%

RL opened at $327.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $354.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $345.20. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a twelve month low of $176.61 and a twelve month high of $389.15.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 37.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.82 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 24.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on RL shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $416.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research raised Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Ralph Lauren from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $391.56.

Insider Activity at Ralph Lauren

In related news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.22, for a total transaction of $16,648,340.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,552 shares in the company, valued at $30,304,229.44. This represents a 35.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 38.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.