Empowered Funds LLC Increases Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 241.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,644 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $2,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 86.6% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 222 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 8,933.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 271 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 333.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 351 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the third quarter valued at about $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RL shares. StockNews.com raised Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Argus upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Raymond James cut shares of Ralph Lauren from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $257.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.33.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of RL opened at $278.51 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.49. Ralph Lauren Co. has a one year low of $155.96 and a one year high of $289.33.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.