Nicholas Investment Partners LP Has $3.53 Million Stock Holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Nicholas Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 238.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,981 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,030 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $3,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RL. Blueline Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 61.3% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 100 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on RL. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $480.00 to $511.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ralph Lauren from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $428.29.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of RL stock opened at $403.53 on Friday. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 1 year low of $258.13 and a 1 year high of $405.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $365.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $360.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.28. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.27 earnings per share. Ralph Lauren’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 18.33 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is presently 24.16%.

Ralph Lauren Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men’s neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren’s product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.