The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Holdings Boosted by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 381,834 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,309 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $40,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 163.0% in the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $88.10 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $93.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.02. The company has a market cap of $31.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.00. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.39 and a 12-month high of $159.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 148.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EL. UBS Group decreased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $140.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $131.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of Estée Lauder Companies 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 in the company, valued at $1,423,714.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now 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.

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.