Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Increases Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,157 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. PARK CIRCLE Co purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on EL shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $129.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $136.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.27.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

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

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL opened at $88.10 on Wednesday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.39 and a 1 year high of $159.75. The company has a market cap of $31.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $93.85 and a 200-day moving average of $119.02.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.39. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.31%.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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.