Versant Capital Management Inc Increases Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 333.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 351 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $81,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RL. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 12,493.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,002,344 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $175,470,000 after acquiring an additional 994,385 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 158.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 863,336 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $149,478,000 after purchasing an additional 528,778 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the third quarter valued at $94,831,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 42.2% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 3,520.3% in the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 120,231 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $21,047,000 after buying an additional 116,910 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RL opened at $234.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1 year low of $134.90 and a 1 year high of $237.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $220.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.34. The stock has a market cap of $14.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Argus raised Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.27.

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.