Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $16.85 Million Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 72,942 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $16,848,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RL. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth $716,000. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 23,613 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $5,454,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth $10,777,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,084 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 151,167 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $34,917,000 after acquiring an additional 32,082 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 0.1 %

RL stock opened at $220.03 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $155.96 and a 12-month high of $289.33. The stock has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50-day moving average is $253.47 and its 200 day moving average is $223.17.

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

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.15.

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.