BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Decreases Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp trimmed its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 63.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 192,322 shares of the company’s stock after selling 335,646 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned approximately 0.05% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $20,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EL. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. PARK CIRCLE Co purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on EL shares. Raymond James downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $131.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,578,114. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related 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 approximately $1,423,714.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of Estée Lauder Companies 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 approximately $4,578,114. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 6.1 %

NYSE:EL opened at $91.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $32.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.67, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.00. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $92.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.92. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.39 and a 52 week high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.39. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 148.31%.

Estée Lauder Companies 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.