Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors LLC Takes $276,000 Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,471 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RL. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ralph Lauren in the 3rd quarter valued at $227,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Ralph Lauren by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 472,046 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $54,800,000 after buying an additional 23,441 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in Ralph Lauren by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 48,496 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $5,630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Ralph Lauren by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,761 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RL traded down $2.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $169.91. 136,369 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 963,202. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $174.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.52. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 52 week low of $108.60 and a 52 week high of $192.03.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The textile maker reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Ralph Lauren had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 9.75%. Ralph Lauren’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 11.07 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a boost from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is presently 33.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on RL. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ralph Lauren from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ralph Lauren from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ralph Lauren in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Insider Transactions at Ralph Lauren

In other Ralph Lauren news, COO Jane Nielsen sold 67,243 shares of Ralph Lauren stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.25, for a total transaction of $11,515,363.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 44,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,636,208.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren 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, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, and giftware; and fragrances.