Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Stock Price Down 3.9%

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)’s stock price was down 3.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $106.25 and last traded at $106.57. Approximately 411,824 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 2,760,079 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Bernstein Bank upped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $160.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.75.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.04.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 148.32%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total transaction of $1,967,134.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 47,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $1,967,134.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total transaction of $1,670,107.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,578 shares in the company, valued at $728,598.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,255 shares of company stock valued at $5,453,232 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 5.2% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 108,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,303 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 0.4% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 103,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,001,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 14.3% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,835,000 after acquiring an additional 2,457 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 5.0% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 14,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 46.3% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 139,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,143,000 after acquiring an additional 44,081 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.