AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 66,762 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 743,592 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 66,762 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 1.20% of Ralph Lauren worth $171,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RL. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 429,870 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $99,291,000 after buying an additional 53,241 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 168.0% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 1,563 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 3,863 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter worth $1,998,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 15,242 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,522,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter worth $5,111,000. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $310.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $282.00 to $219.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $272.14.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of RL opened at $221.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1-year low of $155.96 and a 1-year high of $289.33. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $225.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.87.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.11%.

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.