Bank of New Hampshire Has $2.11 Million Position in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Bank of New Hampshire reduced its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,551 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 409 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Ralph Lauren were worth $2,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 9.3% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,062 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the first quarter worth approximately $1,552,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 48.8% during the first quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 15,709 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,468,000 after purchasing an additional 5,149 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ralph Lauren by 31.0% in the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,285 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestmont Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ralph Lauren in the first quarter valued at approximately $204,000. 67.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on RL shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ralph Lauren from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $260.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $318.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ralph Lauren in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.88.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:RL opened at $274.86 on Friday. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12 month low of $155.96 and a 12 month high of $289.33. The firm has a market cap of $16.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $238.80 and its 200-day moving average is $240.44.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.27. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Ralph Lauren declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ralph Lauren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.9125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. This is a positive change from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Ralph Lauren’s payout ratio is 31.44%.

Ralph Lauren Company 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, floor coverings, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, dining, decorative accessories, and giftware; and fragrances.