Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 19,264 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 968,776 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,264 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.56% of Ralph Lauren worth $223,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,182 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,657 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,005 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 446 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,274 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RL opened at $196.53 on Friday. Ralph Lauren Co. has a twelve month low of $155.96 and a twelve month high of $289.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $247.58 and its 200-day moving average is $227.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on RL shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of Ralph Lauren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.62.

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, floor coverings, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, dining, decorative accessories, and giftware; and fragrances.