The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 47.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,705 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,559 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 163.0% in the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,262.5% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $87.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $91.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.30 billion, a PE ratio of 80.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.01. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $82.39 and a one year high of $159.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 244.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EL. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday. HSBC cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.91.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 sale, the director now owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,714.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% 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.