Ralph Lauren Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.75 (NYSE:RL)

Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 17th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.75 per share by the textile maker on Friday, April 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%.

Ralph Lauren has increased its dividend by an average of 3.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Ralph Lauren has a dividend payout ratio of 32.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Ralph Lauren to earn $9.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.4%.

Ralph Lauren Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of RL traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $110.92. The company had a trading volume of 970,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 971,493. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $119.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.64. The stock has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.37. Ralph Lauren has a 52 week low of $82.23 and a 52 week high of $128.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The textile maker reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 22.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ralph Lauren will post 8.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ralph Lauren

In other news, CEO Patrice Louvet sold 18,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $2,312,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 202,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,291,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 36.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ralph Lauren

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RL. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 6.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,086 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 61.8% in the first quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 2,810 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC bought a new position in Ralph Lauren during the third quarter worth $288,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Ralph Lauren during the fourth quarter worth $283,000. Finally, Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,620 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. 66.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $92.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ralph Lauren has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.86.

About Ralph Lauren

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Ralph Lauren Corp. engages in the design, marketing, and distribution of premium lifestyle products. The firm offers apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and other licensed products. It operates through the following segments: North America, Europe, and Asia. The North America segment consists of sales of Ralph Lauren branded apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and related products made through the Company’s wholesale and retail businesses in the U.S.