Ralph Lauren Corporation $RL Shares Acquired by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) by 189.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 86,031 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,359 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $18,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 93.7% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 122 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 178.0% in the 1st quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 180.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 171 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 74.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.41.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Ralph Lauren stock opened at $285.9390 on Thursday. Ralph Lauren Corporation has a 12-month low of $167.32 and a 12-month high of $306.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $285.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The textile maker reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.50 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.