Cwm LLC Purchases 976 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Cwm LLC grew its position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 161.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,580 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 67.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,214,000 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $175,001,000 after buying an additional 487,882 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter worth about $18,944,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 251.5% during the 4th quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 12,330 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,778,000 after buying an additional 8,822 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 71.9% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 80,043 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $11,542,000 after buying an additional 33,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,761 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ralph Lauren

In related news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of Ralph Lauren stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.25, for a total transaction of $11,515,363.75. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 39.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RL opened at $182.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $172.56 and a 200-day moving average of $165.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12 month low of $108.60 and a 12 month high of $192.03.

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 30.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RL has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

About Ralph Lauren

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.