Analysts Set Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) PT at $170.50

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $170.50.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ralph Lauren from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of RL stock opened at $175.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 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 has a twelve month low of $108.60 and a twelve month high of $192.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.04.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its earnings results 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 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 11.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is currently 30.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ralph Lauren

In other Ralph Lauren news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was 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 owns 44,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,636,208.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 39.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,908,575 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $921,634,000 after acquiring an additional 203,495 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,255,482 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $235,662,000 after purchasing an additional 41,482 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 794,127 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $114,513,000 after purchasing an additional 331,413 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 474,332 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $68,399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 472,046 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $54,800,000 after purchasing an additional 23,441 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

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