Merit Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,194 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $507,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 86.6% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 222 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8,933.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 271 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 181.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 351 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on RL shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Argus raised Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. StockNews.com raised Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.09.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

NYSE:RL opened at $256.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12-month low of $138.90 and a 12-month high of $256.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $230.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $199.64.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 29.44% and a net margin of 10.15%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. Ralph Lauren’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 31.46%.

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