Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Ralph Lauren from $425.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Barclays increased their target price on Ralph Lauren from $416.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. BTIG Research increased their price target on Ralph Lauren from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $360.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $399.19.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $23.63 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $356.63 and a 200 day moving average of $350.52.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The textile maker reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 37.97% and a net margin of 11.73%.Ralph Lauren’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Corporation will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th were issued a dividend of $0.9125 per share. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ralph Lauren news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 47,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 85,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,304,229.44. This trade represents a 35.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 38.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter worth approximately $707,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA bought a new position in Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,337,000. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 41.0% during the 1st quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 6,657 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,461,000 after buying an additional 1,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ralph Lauren during the 1st quarter worth approximately $367,000. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

About Ralph Lauren

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.