GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stock Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 56.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 3.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,657 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Simmons Bank increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 2,703 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,687 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 6.2% in the second quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 4.5% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 2,300 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on RL shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James upped their price target on Ralph Lauren from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.27.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 0.2 %

RL opened at $242.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $221.89 and its 200-day moving average is $194.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 52-week low of $134.90 and a 52-week high of $245.92.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 29.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. Analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.46%.

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