Howard Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Howard Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,333 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 1,340 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $6,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in RL. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 86.6% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 222 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 8,933.3% during the third 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 period. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren during the 3rd quarter worth $86,000. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus raised Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $258.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.15.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $277.92 on Friday. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1-year low of $155.96 and a 1-year high of $289.33. The stock has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.94. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.11%.

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.