The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Stake Cut by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. cut its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,234 shares of the company’s stock after selling 127 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 113.7% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 156,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,900,000 after purchasing an additional 83,320 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the first quarter worth $997,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth $558,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth $6,043,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,477.8% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 566,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,804,000 after buying an additional 550,355 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies 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 transaction of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,578,114. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE:EL opened at $85.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.39 and a 1-year high of $159.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.15.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released 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. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on EL. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $136.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $140.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.27.

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.