Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Lowers Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,494 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,418 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $5,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 113.7% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 156,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,900,000 after acquiring an additional 83,320 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter worth $997,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,477.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 517.6% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 46,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,820,000 after acquiring an additional 39,082 shares during the period. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $819,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total transaction of $1,967,134.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at $6,412,971.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total value of $1,815,989.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,958,990.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,255 shares of company stock worth $5,453,232. Corporate insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $160.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $163.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.63.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

EL stock traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $100.31. 1,883,924 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,827,124. The company has a market cap of $35.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.58, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.50. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.87 and a 1-year high of $183.20.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 148.32%.

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.