SG Americas Securities LLC Boosts Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 17.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 247,163 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,604 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $24,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EL. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920,439 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $291,171,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,686,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,188,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,555 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $82,664,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,714.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,578,114. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $140.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley assumed coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.64.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $95.41 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 current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $92.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.21 billion, a PE ratio of 53.60, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 2.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.31%.

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.