American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 10,826 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 8.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 142,673 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 10,826 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.23% of Ralph Lauren worth $24,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Ralph Lauren during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 1,775.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RL opened at $183.61 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $11.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.49. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12 month low of $108.60 and a 12 month high of $192.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $170.03 and a 200-day moving average of $173.24.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.23 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on RL shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.80.

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.