GDS Wealth Management Has $7.50 Million Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

GDS Wealth Management raised its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,459 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,320 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $7,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EL. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth $6,322,000. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 208.3% during the 2nd quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. now owns 32,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,438,000 after acquiring an additional 21,829 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,569,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 2.3% in the second quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 79,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,434,000 after acquiring an additional 1,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 268.1% in the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 96,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,225,000 after purchasing an additional 69,990 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,578,114. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $85.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.18 and a 200 day moving average of $119.45. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.39 and a 52-week high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.39. The business 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%. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.27.

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.