Insider Selling: The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) CFO Sells 14,493 Shares of Stock

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the company’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 value of $1,967,134.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at $6,412,971.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of EL stock opened at $134.75 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.22 and a 1 year high of $204.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a PE ratio of 75.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $142.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 34.1% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 2.3% in the first quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 3,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $169.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $160.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.92.

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.