State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Cuts Stock Holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lessened its holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,360 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 759 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $3,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the third quarter worth $19,320,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 137.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,849 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 24.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,545 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $17,425,000 after purchasing an additional 16,575 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 2.0% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 8,781 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $94,831,000. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RL opened at $220.01 on Friday. Ralph Lauren Co. has a twelve month low of $155.96 and a twelve month high of $289.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $226.61 and its 200 day moving average is $228.53.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James cut shares of Ralph Lauren from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $257.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Ralph Lauren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.71.

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.