Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,839 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,065,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 6,216.7% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 73,337 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $25,933,000 after purchasing an additional 72,176 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 177.9% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 54,701 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $19,343,000 after buying an additional 35,016 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 106.8% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 63,180 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $22,552,000 after buying an additional 32,622 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 41,688 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $14,741,000 after buying an additional 9,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 160.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 88,617 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,787,000 after buying an additional 54,533 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on RL shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $430.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Ralph Lauren from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Ralph Lauren from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $428.29.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 0.0%

RL stock opened at $412.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.58 billion, a PE ratio of 27.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $370.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $361.95. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $259.30 and a fifty-two week high of $421.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.27 EPS. Ralph Lauren’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.16%.

About Ralph Lauren

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.