The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Stock Position Decreased by Moreno Evelyn V

Moreno Evelyn V cut its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 89.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,737 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,755 shares during the quarter. Moreno Evelyn V’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,626,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,692,479,000 after purchasing an additional 140,488 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,311,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $767,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,271 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,483,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,085,000 after acquiring an additional 254,198 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,151,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,169,000 after acquiring an additional 496,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,720,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512,982 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock traded down $3.23 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $127.54. 1,406,701 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,763,985. 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 firm has a market cap of $45.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.49, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.07. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.22 and a 52 week high of $204.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.54.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 148.32%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was 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 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 link. Insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bernstein Bank increased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $191.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Sixteen investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.92.

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.