Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Takes Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 13,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 86.6% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 222 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 281.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 202 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 8,933.3% in 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 acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 333.3% during the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RL has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. 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. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Ralph Lauren in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $310.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $258.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.15.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

RL stock opened at $222.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $254.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.77. The firm has a market cap of $13.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1 year low of $155.96 and a 1 year high of $289.33.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is currently 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.