Chapin Davis Inc. Takes Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Chapin Davis Inc. acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,725 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RL. Boston Partners raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 67.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 794,127 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $114,513,000 after acquiring an additional 331,413 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 worth $68,399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 5.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 472,046 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $54,800,000 after purchasing an additional 23,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 10,207.7% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 325,208 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $61,061,000 after buying an additional 322,053 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of RL stock opened at $172.07 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.25. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12-month low of $108.60 and a 12-month high of $192.03. The company has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.52.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its quarterly 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. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 27.90%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.07 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 33.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $171.25, for a total transaction of $11,515,363.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 44,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,636,208.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on RL. Jefferies Financial Group started 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. TD Cowen raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ralph Lauren from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

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.