Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $389.43 and last traded at $389.02, with a volume of 171849 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $386.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on RL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $422.00 target price on Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Argus upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Bank of America upped their target price on Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $399.19.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $23.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $356.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $350.52.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 37.97% and a net margin of 11.73%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Corporation 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 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a dividend of $0.9125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $3.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ralph Lauren news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.22, for a total transaction of $16,648,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,552 shares in the company, valued at $30,304,229.44. This represents a 35.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 38.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 5.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,432 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 0.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,334 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,723,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 39.5% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 3,369 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 29.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,812 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the second quarter valued at about $386,000. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products under the Ralph Lauren name and a portfolio of related brands. The company, founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and headquartered in New York City, has grown from a single line of men’s neckties into a global lifestyle business that spans apparel, accessories and home goods.

Ralph Lauren’s product assortment includes menswear, womenswear and childrenswear along with footwear, leather goods, eyewear, fragrances and home furnishings.