Retirement Systems of Alabama Raises Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,410 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $7,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total transaction of $1,815,989.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,389 shares in the company, valued at $6,958,990.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total value of $1,815,989.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,958,990.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 47,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $169.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $191.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.75.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

EL stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $106.35. 3,073,818 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,802,429. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $38.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.80, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $123.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.21. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.22 and a fifty-two week high of $197.41.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 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.