Renaissance Technologies LLC Cuts Stock Position in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 26.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,722 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 24,428 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.11% of Ralph Lauren worth $22,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 4.4% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 32,328 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $11,121,000 after buying an additional 1,370 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 6.8% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,949 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the first quarter valued at $1,381,000. Sellaronda Global Management LP acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter valued at $16,340,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 549.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 20,164 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $6,936,000 after buying an additional 17,059 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $430.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $480.00 to $511.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $430.79.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL opened at $375.76 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $387.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $367.42. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $273.04 and a fifty-two week high of $421.60. The firm has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.34.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The textile maker reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.28. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 11.60%.The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 18.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is currently 26.47%.

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.