BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 9,025 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 130,164 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,025 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.21% of Ralph Lauren worth $30,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,182 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,005 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 446 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Ralph Lauren by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,659 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,274 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 4.6 %

NYSE:RL opened at $251.45 on Friday. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12 month low of $155.96 and a 12 month high of $289.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.20.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued 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 return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 10.14%. Analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 30.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $272.14.

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.