Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 16,493 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 1,324.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,738 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,493 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,250,555 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 4.6% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,163,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,612,000 after purchasing an additional 140,416 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 12.0% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,962,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,262,000 after purchasing an additional 318,257 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $291,171,000. Finally, Carmignac Gestion lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,908.0% in the fourth quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 1,195,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,895,000 after buying an additional 1,136,201 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

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

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 2.8 %

EL stock opened at $85.01 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.39 and a 1-year high of $159.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $92.92 and its 200-day moving average is $118.15. The firm has a market cap 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.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.39. The firm 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 was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EL shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock 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 note on Friday. B. Riley started coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $129.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.27.

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.