Simmons Bank Makes New Investment in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Simmons Bank acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,500 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $360,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 46,554 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $5,404,000 after buying an additional 16,083 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 6.8% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 442,295 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $51,346,000 after buying an additional 28,051 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,087 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,419 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $861,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 12,872 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RL has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.92.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Ralph Lauren stock traded down $1.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $164.97. 354,883 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 971,277. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s 50-day moving average is $174.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.17. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12 month low of $103.17 and a 12 month high of $192.03.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The textile maker reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.53 by $0.64. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.35 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 34.01%.

Ralph Lauren 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.