Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $239.42 Million Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,250,146 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,342 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.63% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $239,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,686,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,188,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,555 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings 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 increased its position 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 worth $315,262,000 after buying an additional 318,257 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $291,171,000. Finally, Carmignac Gestion lifted its position 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 valued at $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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Raymond James lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, B. Riley started coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.27.

Insider Activity

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,714.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the business’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 in the company, 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 Stock Performance

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $85.01 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $30.48 billion, a PE ratio of 47.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $92.92 and a 200-day moving average of $118.15. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.39 and a 1-year high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 148.31%.

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.