Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 919 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,014,000. Amundi grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 195,208 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $47,444,000 after purchasing an additional 14,889 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth $2,264,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the 4th quarter valued at $6,872,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 100,164 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $23,136,000 after purchasing an additional 35,165 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE:RL opened at $274.65 on Monday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $222.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.41. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1-year low of $155.96 and a 1-year high of $289.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.44.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on RL shares. Raymond James lowered Ralph Lauren from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $282.00 to $219.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.29.

Ralph Lauren 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.