Sentry Investment Management LLC Purchases 89 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Sentry Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 178.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 139 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 89 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $31,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 219.8% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,016 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,549,000 after buying an additional 4,822 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 5.0% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 9,160 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,022,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 12.9% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 75,423 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $16,649,000 after purchasing an additional 8,594 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 74.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Ralph Lauren by 24,164.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 254,292 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $56,132,000 after purchasing an additional 253,244 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

NYSE:RL opened at $274.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.17. 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 1-year low of $155.96 and a 1-year high of $289.33.

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

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

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $262.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Guggenheim raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $250.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.88.

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.