The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. $EL Shares Purchased by QV Investors Inc.

QV Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 33.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 136,530 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 34,410 shares during the quarter. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Estee Lauder Companies were worth $10,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Estee Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna acquired a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in Estee Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Estee Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Estee Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on EL. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $86.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Lande Rashida La sold 5,564 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.55, for a total transaction of $553,896.20. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $553,896.20. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 13.05% of the company’s stock.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $103.36 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $37.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 210.94, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.37. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $66.22 and a one year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 1.21%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.09 earnings per share. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.100-3.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Estee Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 285.71%.

About Estee Lauder Companies

Estée Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE: EL) is a global leader in prestige beauty that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. Founded in 1946 by Estée Lauder, the company has grown from a small family business into a multinational consumer-products enterprise headquartered in New York City. Its activities span product research and development, brand and product marketing, manufacturing and global distribution across multiple retail channels.

The company’s portfolio includes a mix of legacy and prestige brands that target different consumer segments and price points, with well-known names such as Estée Lauder, Clinique, MAC, La Mer and Jo Malone among others.