Merlin Capital Inc Has $763,000 Stock Holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Merlin Capital Inc cut its position in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,292 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 231 shares during the quarter. Ralph Lauren accounts for 2.4% of Merlin Capital Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Merlin Capital Inc’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 80,043 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $11,542,000 after purchasing an additional 33,489 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 9.9% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,761 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 64.4% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 123,638 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $14,353,000 after acquiring an additional 48,432 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the third quarter valued at approximately $827,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,478,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of RL stock traded down $2.12 on Tuesday, hitting $164.91. The stock had a trading volume of 214,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 981,138. Ralph Lauren Co. has a twelve month low of $103.17 and a twelve month high of $192.03. The firm has a market cap of $10.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $176.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.03.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The textile maker reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.53 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.35 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is presently 34.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $132.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.92.

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