Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases New Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 45,098 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $10,417,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.07% of Ralph Lauren at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1,270.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 281.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 202 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Ralph Lauren by 22,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd now owns 226 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 333.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 351 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RL. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $310.00 price objective on the stock. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $280.00 to $286.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ralph Lauren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.43.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RL opened at $193.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $11.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $240.58 and a 200 day moving average of $227.50. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 52 week low of $155.96 and a 52 week high of $289.33.

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

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.