Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,225 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $3,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RL. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $94,831,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,139,975 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $221,007,000 after buying an additional 137,631 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,320,000. Atreides Management LP lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Atreides Management LP now owns 377,481 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $73,182,000 after buying an additional 83,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 839,296 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $162,714,000 after buying an additional 78,008 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on RL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $257.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.15.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 6.4 %

NYSE RL opened at $217.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $255.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.09. The company has a market capitalization of $13.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12 month low of $155.96 and a 12 month high of $289.33.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.11%.

Ralph Lauren Company 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.