Two Sigma Investments LP Lowers Stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Two Sigma Investments LP lessened its position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 49.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 66,976 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 64,472 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $15,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter valued at $3,014,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 195,208 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $47,444,000 after purchasing an additional 14,889 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at $2,264,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at $6,872,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 100,164 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $23,136,000 after buying an additional 35,165 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE RL opened at $277.36 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $227.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12-month low of $155.96 and a 12-month high of $289.33. The company has a market cap of $17.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 10.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to repurchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.9125 dividend. This is an increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on RL shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Ralph Lauren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.29.

About Ralph Lauren

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.