Acadian Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 15,903.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 448,902 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 446,097 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 0.70% of Ralph Lauren worth $84,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren during the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the first quarter valued at $64,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the first quarter valued at $156,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 2,062.5% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,038 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on RL shares. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 1.5 %

RL traded down $2.46 on Friday, hitting $165.31. 812,072 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 882,463. Ralph Lauren Co. has a twelve month low of $108.60 and a twelve month high of $192.03. The company has a market cap of $10.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $176.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.01.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The textile maker reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 9.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.95%.

Insider Transactions at Ralph Lauren

In related news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.25, for a total value of $11,515,363.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 44,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,636,208.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, and giftware; and fragrances.