The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,011 shares of the company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $518,975,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $291,171,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,686,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,188,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,555 shares during the last quarter. Carmignac Gestion increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,908.0% during the fourth quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 1,195,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,022,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,087,000 after buying an additional 742,449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $131.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $84.13 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.39 and a 12-month high of $159.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.26, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.00.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.99 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, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,714.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.