Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Trading Down 3.9%

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) dropped 3.9% on Friday . The company traded as low as $106.25 and last traded at $106.57. Approximately 411,824 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 2,760,079 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on EL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $169.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America raised shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Bernstein Bank raised their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.75.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 4.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $38.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.78, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $126.73 and a 200 day moving average of $137.22.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 148.32%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total transaction of $1,815,989.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,958,990.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total transaction of $1,670,107.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $728,598.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total value of $1,815,989.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,958,990.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,255 shares of company stock worth $5,453,232. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 177,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,973,000 after acquiring an additional 10,070 shares in the last quarter. Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $576,000. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 48.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 3,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 494.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,846,000 after acquiring an additional 20,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 11,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares in 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.