Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL)

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 16,632 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 80% compared to the average daily volume of 9,232 put options.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $106.44 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $125.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.63. Estée Lauder Companies has a twelve month low of $102.22 and a twelve month high of $198.86. 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 market cap of $38.17 billion, a PE ratio of 59.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total transaction of $1,815,989.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,958,990.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were 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 owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total transaction of $1,815,989.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,958,990.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,255 shares of company stock valued at $5,453,232. Company insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Bernstein Bank lifted their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.75.

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.