The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Creative Planning

Creative Planning decreased its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 58.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,229 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,147 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $3,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EL. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000,000 after buying an additional 1,920,439 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $291,171,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,686,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,188,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,555 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,664,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EL. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $140.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Citigroup cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.91.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL stock opened at $87.25 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $91.30 and its 200-day moving average is $108.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.30 billion, a PE ratio of 80.79, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.01. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 244.44%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,578,114. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.