Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 2.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,230 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 316 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $2,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RL. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,214,000 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $175,001,000 after buying an additional 487,882 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 794,127 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $114,513,000 after acquiring an additional 331,413 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 10,207.7% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 325,208 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $61,061,000 after purchasing an additional 322,053 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 11,052.5% in the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 177,548 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $33,325,000 after purchasing an additional 175,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $18,944,000. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Ralph Lauren stock opened at $181.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.97. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12 month low of $108.60 and a 12 month high of $192.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.51.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The textile maker reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for 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%. Ralph Lauren’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ralph Lauren from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ralph Lauren

In other news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.