Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL Holdings Raised by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 553.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,781 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,591 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $2,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,160 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 76.3% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 171 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 11,507 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $4,069,000 after buying an additional 1,735 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 1,437 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $414,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on RL shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Ralph Lauren from $425.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup raised Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $435.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research lowered Ralph Lauren from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.29.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of RL stock opened at $382.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $258.13 and a fifty-two week high of $393.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $355.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $356.49. The firm has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.37.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 11.60%.The business’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.27 EPS. Analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 18.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.16%.

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.