Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 400 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 163.0% during the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,262.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total value of $1,815,989.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,958,990.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $136.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Raymond James cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.77.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 2.5 %

EL opened at $93.70 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $100.83 and its 200-day moving average is $125.84. The company has a market cap of $33.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.64, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.99. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.05 and a 1-year high of $165.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.39. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 148.31%.

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.