Bridgewater Associates LP Buys 35,550 Shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 145.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,927 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 35,550 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned about 0.10% of Ralph Lauren worth $11,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 1,775.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 86.6% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 222 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Ralph Lauren in the third quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:RL opened at $222.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.49. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 1 year low of $125.25 and a 1 year high of $237.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $202.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.48.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The textile maker reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.11. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 29.44% and a net margin of 10.15%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Ralph Lauren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RL. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.90.

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.