The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 129 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% during 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 last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,163,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,612,000 after purchasing an additional 140,416 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 12.0% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,962,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,262,000 after purchasing an additional 318,257 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $291,171,000. Finally, Carmignac Gestion boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,908.0% during the fourth quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 1,195,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,895,000 after buying an additional 1,136,201 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $85.01 on Friday. 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 Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.39 and a 12 month high of $159.75. The company has a market cap of $30.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.15.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on EL shares. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.27.

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.