Cypress Capital Group Trims Holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Cypress Capital Group cut its stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 22.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,176 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 1,477 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $1,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Burney Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren in the fourth quarter valued at $5,711,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 492,787 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $95,537,000 after buying an additional 13,640 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 145.8% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 59,927 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $11,618,000 after buying an additional 35,550 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren during the third quarter worth about $1,819,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 11,913 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,752,000 after buying an additional 2,880 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $257.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.15.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 3.7 %

NYSE RL opened at $252.53 on Wednesday. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1-year low of $155.96 and a 1-year high of $289.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $254.13 and a 200-day moving average of $218.94. The firm has a market cap of $15.60 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.49.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released 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 return on equity of 30.88% and a net margin of 10.14%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.11%.

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.