Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Shares Purchased by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 64,396 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,887 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $14,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of RL. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 70.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,436 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 5,133 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 17.7% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,848 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 32,465 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $6,294,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter valued at about $331,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,819,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RL. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Ralph Lauren in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $310.00 price target on the stock. Argus raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.62.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 4.3 %

RL stock opened at $215.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $13.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $251.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $226.51. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12 month low of $155.96 and a 12 month high of $289.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 10.14%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.11%.

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