Forsta AP Fonden Grows Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,190 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $7,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,435,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,842,514,000 after purchasing an additional 809,370 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,151,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,169,000 after acquiring an additional 496,308 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth $518,975,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,022,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,087,000 after acquiring an additional 742,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 18.2% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,644,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,685,000 after acquiring an additional 406,753 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on EL shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $163.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $175.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated 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 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.67.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at $6,412,971.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at $6,412,971.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total transaction of $1,670,107.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,578 shares in the company, valued at $728,598.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,255 shares of company stock worth $5,453,232 over the last ninety days. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $102.60 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.35. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $101.35 and a one year high of $193.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.07, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.99.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.32%.

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.