Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Price Target Raised to $450.00 at BTIG Research

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) had its target price lifted by BTIG Research from $435.00 to $450.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the textile maker’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $425.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $477.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research cut shares of Ralph Lauren from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $400.31.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of RL opened at $358.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $357.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $354.61. Ralph Lauren has a fifty-two week low of $246.72 and a fifty-two week high of $393.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.42. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 37.97%. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 16.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th were given a dividend of $0.9125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were 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 owned 85,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,304,229.44. This represents a 35.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 38.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ralph Lauren

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 1,510 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 4,425 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,565,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,762 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,688,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,311 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,920,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

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.