Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $499,000 Stock Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,159 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $499,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of RL. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $94,831,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,139,975 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $221,007,000 after purchasing an additional 137,631 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,320,000. Atreides Management LP grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Atreides Management LP now owns 377,481 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $73,182,000 after purchasing an additional 83,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 839,296 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $162,714,000 after purchasing an additional 78,008 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $257.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.15.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RL opened at $220.40 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.82. Ralph Lauren Co. has a one year low of $155.96 and a one year high of $289.33.

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

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is currently 30.11%.

About Ralph Lauren

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.