Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $19.39 Million Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 17.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 182,255 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,947 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $19,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 24.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,304,000 after purchasing an additional 6,102 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd now owns 40,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,273,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter worth $259,000. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on EL shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.64.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $97.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.96. The company has a market capitalization of $34.87 billion, a PE ratio of 54.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.00. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.39 and a twelve month high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.07 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.