ING Groep NV Cuts Stock Position in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

ING Groep NV reduced its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 46.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,585 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 11,993 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $4,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8,937.8% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 963,340 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $264,225,000 after buying an additional 952,681 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 895,017 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $316,487,000 after buying an additional 255,511 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter worth about $74,841,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 137.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 362,022 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $113,516,000 after buying an additional 209,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,511,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $437.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.29.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:RL opened at $373.71 on Tuesday. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 12 month low of $258.13 and a 12 month high of $393.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $360.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $358.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $22.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.35.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.27 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 18.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is presently 24.16%.

About Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men’s neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren’s product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.