Nebula Research & Development LLC Buys Shares of 8,650 Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,650 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ralph Lauren during the third quarter worth $94,831,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,237,512 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $285,841,000 after acquiring an additional 289,924 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,415,473 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $326,946,000 after acquiring an additional 205,121 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 671.0% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 136,239 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $31,637,000 after acquiring an additional 118,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ralph Lauren during the third quarter worth about $19,320,000. 67.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James lowered Ralph Lauren from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Ralph Lauren from $282.00 to $219.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.71.

Ralph Lauren Stock Performance

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $220.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 52 week low of $155.96 and a 52 week high of $289.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $226.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.38.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. Research analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is currently 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.