Ralph Lauren Corporation (RL) To Go Ex-Dividend on June 27th

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 22nd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of 0.9125 per share by the textile maker on Friday, July 11th. This represents a $3.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This is a 10.6% increase from Ralph Lauren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83.

Ralph Lauren has a payout ratio of 24.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Ralph Lauren to earn $13.61 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.65 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.8%.

Ralph Lauren Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Ralph Lauren stock opened at $273.88 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $255.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $243.98. The stock has a market cap of $16.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.51. Ralph Lauren has a 12-month low of $155.96 and a 12-month high of $289.33.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 31.76%. Ralph Lauren’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren will post 12.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 report on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ralph Lauren from $197.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Ralph Lauren in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ralph Lauren from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Cfra Research cut Ralph Lauren from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ralph Lauren presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,334 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,723,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Ralph Lauren by 29.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,812 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 5.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,432 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Ralph Lauren by 39.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 3,369 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 954 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.91% of the company’s stock.

Ralph Lauren announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the textile maker to buy up to 8.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.