Bank of Nova Scotia Buys 17,059 Shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 549.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,164 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,059 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $6,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 1,510 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $519,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 4,425 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,565,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1.1% in the third quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,257 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RL. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $437.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Ralph Lauren from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Fifteen investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.79.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 1.7%

RL stock opened at $380.11 on Tuesday. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1-year low of $273.04 and a 1-year high of $421.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $385.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $367.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.47%.

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.