Howard Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Howard Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,333 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 1,340 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $6,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at $1,009,000. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at $115,000. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at $1,192,000. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 546.7% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 27,030 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $6,243,000 after buying an additional 22,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 15,135 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,496,000 after buying an additional 4,585 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Ralph Lauren from $257.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $310.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.15.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Shares of RL opened at $277.92 on Friday. Ralph Lauren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $155.96 and a fifty-two week high of $289.33. The company has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.76.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.11%.

About Ralph Lauren

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.