QRG Capital Management Inc. Buys 186 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,564 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 1,775.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren in the first quarter worth about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RL opened at $159.03 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.29. Ralph Lauren Co. has a one year low of $108.60 and a one year high of $192.03. The firm has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.51.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.25. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 9.75%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. Ralph Lauren’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.08 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $196.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ralph Lauren

In other news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.25, for a total value of $11,515,363.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 44,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,636,208.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.