Prudential PLC Sells 1,155 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Prudential PLC lessened its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 5.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,085 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,155 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $518,975,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $291,171,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,686,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,188,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,555 shares during the period. Carmignac Gestion boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,908.0% in the fourth quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 1,195,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,022,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,087,000 after acquiring an additional 742,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,578,114. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EL shares. Bank of America cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $129.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL stock opened at $84.52 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.96. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.39 and a 52 week high of $159.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.32 billion, a PE ratio of 47.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.00.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.32%.

Estée Lauder Companies Profile

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.