The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Acquired by J. Stern & Co. LLP

J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 136.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,256 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,910 shares during the period. Estée Lauder Companies comprises approximately 0.1% of J. Stern & Co. LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. J. Stern & Co. LLP’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,686,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,188,832,000 after buying an additional 1,250,555 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its position 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 worth $368,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,320 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $487,612,000 after acquiring an additional 140,416 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,962,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,262,000 after acquiring an additional 318,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $291,171,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on EL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $131.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. 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 report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.27.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $85.01 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $92.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.76. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.39 and a fifty-two week high of $159.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,578,114. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,578,114. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.