Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases 456 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,978 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,657 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Simmons Bank grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 2,703 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1.2% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,687 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 11.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 672 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 4.5% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 2,300 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

NYSE RL opened at $250.60 on Thursday. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12-month low of $138.21 and a 12-month high of $250.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $229.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $199.24. 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 market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.49.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 29.44% and a net margin of 10.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 31.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RL has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.09.

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, floor coverings, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, dining, decorative accessories, and giftware; and fragrances.