Insider Selling: The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) CFO Sells 14,493 Shares of Stock

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 47,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,412,971.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock traded down $2.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $135.90. 463,319 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,750,575. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.98. The firm has a market cap of $48.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.07. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.22 and a 52-week high of $204.41.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.32%.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 163.0% in the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EL. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $169.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Bernstein Bank lifted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.92.

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.