Swedbank AB Sells 75,694 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Swedbank AB reduced its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,000 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 75,694 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $69,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,657 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Simmons Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 2.3% during the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 2,703 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 1.2% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,687 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 672 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ralph Lauren by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,274 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Ralph Lauren stock opened at $256.68 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $233.93 and its 200 day moving average is $201.85. The company has a market capitalization of $15.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.49. Ralph Lauren Co. has a twelve month low of $142.26 and a twelve month high of $260.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 29.44% and a net margin of 10.15%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.29%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Cfra set a $171.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.91.

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.