MML Investors Services LLC Cuts Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

MML Investors Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,078 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,139,975 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $221,007,000 after buying an additional 137,631 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 158.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 863,336 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $149,478,000 after buying an additional 528,778 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 839,296 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $162,714,000 after buying an additional 78,008 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 638,502 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $111,760,000 after buying an additional 189,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 520,393 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $100,889,000 after acquiring an additional 60,610 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Raymond James raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.90.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Ralph Lauren stock opened at $230.41 on Tuesday. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1-year low of $134.90 and a 1-year high of $237.16. The firm has a market cap of $14.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $214.76 and a 200-day moving average of $190.39.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 29.44% and a net margin of 10.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 31.46%.

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.