Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 16.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,846 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 358 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 93.7% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 178.0% during the first quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the first quarter worth $39,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 74.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 175.0% during the first quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of RL opened at $290.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $284.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $306.34.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 33.72%. Ralph Lauren’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to repurchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a $0.9125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $385.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.41.

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.