2,422 Shares in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL Acquired by Ascentis Independent Advisors

Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,422 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $833,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 6,216.7% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 73,337 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $25,933,000 after acquiring an additional 72,176 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 177.9% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 54,701 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $19,343,000 after acquiring an additional 35,016 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Ralph Lauren by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 41,688 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $14,741,000 after purchasing an additional 9,133 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Ralph Lauren by 106.8% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 63,180 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $22,552,000 after purchasing an additional 32,622 shares during the period. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 2,184.8% in the 4th quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 22,848 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $8,079,000 after purchasing an additional 21,848 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of RL opened at $395.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $23.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.34. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a twelve month low of $273.04 and a twelve month high of $421.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $376.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $365.33.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 firm posted $2.27 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 18.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on RL shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup raised Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $437.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.07.

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.