Raymond James & Associates Trims Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 573,115 shares of the company’s stock after selling 142,989 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.16% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $57,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,686,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,188,832,000 after buying an additional 1,250,555 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,320 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 4.6% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,163,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,612,000 after acquiring an additional 140,416 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 12.0% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,962,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,262,000 after purchasing an additional 318,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920,439 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on EL. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Finally, B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.36.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $89.29 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $91.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.39 and a 12-month high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.77% 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, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.