Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 14,656 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 244.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,648 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 14,656 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $3,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 1,775.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter worth about $63,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on RL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $196.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.80.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $166.74 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $172.26 and a 200-day moving average of $173.51. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1-year low of $108.60 and a 1-year high of $192.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.51.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.25. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 28.79%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 Transactions at Ralph Lauren

In other news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,636,208.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.