Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,949 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,404 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.14% of Ralph Lauren worth $20,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,182 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 3.4% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,657 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,005 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 446 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,274 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Price Performance

Ralph Lauren stock opened at $196.53 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $12.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.38. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1 year low of $155.96 and a 1 year high of $289.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $247.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.75.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is currently 30.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on RL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James cut shares of Ralph Lauren from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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 note on Tuesday, December 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.62.

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.