Blueshift Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 12,731 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,941,000. Ralph Lauren comprises approximately 1.1% of Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 13.7% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,139,975 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $221,007,000 after buying an additional 137,631 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in Ralph Lauren by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 982,927 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $227,085,000 after purchasing an additional 65,303 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ralph Lauren by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 949,512 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $183,787,000 after purchasing an additional 30,694 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 10.2% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 839,296 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $162,714,000 after purchasing an additional 78,008 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 13.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 520,393 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $100,889,000 after purchasing an additional 60,610 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas raised Ralph Lauren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $280.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Ralph Lauren in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $310.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.62.

Ralph Lauren Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $224.04 on Thursday. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1 year low of $155.96 and a 1 year high of $289.33. The firm has a market cap of $13.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $252.63 and a 200 day moving average of $223.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 30.11%.

Ralph Lauren Company 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.