Insider Selling: The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Insider Sells $1,670,107.32 in Stock

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total value of $1,670,107.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $728,598.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $126.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.71. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.22 and a 12 month high of $204.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.20 billion, a PE ratio of 70.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.07.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 148.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EL. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $160.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $169.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MGO One Seven LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 3,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $329,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,441.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 43,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,323,000 after purchasing an additional 40,903 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

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.