L2 Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL

L2 Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,466 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 9,884 shares during the period. L2 Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $5,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RL. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,762 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,688,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,114 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,311 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,920,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 61.3% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 100 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in Ralph Lauren by 5.6% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 733 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on RL. Weiss Ratings raised Ralph Lauren from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $333.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $389.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ralph Lauren news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of Ralph Lauren stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.22, for a total transaction of $16,648,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 85,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,304,229.44. The trade was a 35.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 38.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

NYSE:RL opened at $338.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $359.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $343.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.47. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 52-week low of $176.61 and a 52-week high of $389.15.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.42. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 37.97% and a net margin of 11.73%.The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.9125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.85%.

Ralph Lauren Profile

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.