Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Trading 9.3% Higher

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)’s share price rose 9.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $101.08 and last traded at $100.16. Approximately 1,331,101 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 3,162,084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on EL. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $136.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Raymond James cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.27.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $36.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

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

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000,000 after buying an additional 1,920,439 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter worth about $291,171,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 in the last quarter. Carmignac Gestion lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,908.0% in the 4th 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, Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

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.