4,071 Shares in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Purchased by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,071 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $587,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of RL. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 99.2% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 113,200.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE RL opened at $183.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.29. The company has a market capitalization of $11.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.52. Ralph Lauren Co. has a one year low of $108.60 and a one year high of $192.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $171.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.97.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The textile maker reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 9.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.25, for a total value of $11,515,363.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 44,591 shares in the company, valued at $7,636,208.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 39.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Ralph Lauren Company 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.