Insider Selling: Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Director Sells $276,930.60 in Stock

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Director Paul Fribourg sold 2,406 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.10, for a total value of $276,930.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 323,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,283,422.20. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Estee Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $110.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.62. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.22 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $40.05 billion, a PE ratio of 110.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.21. Estee Lauder Companies had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 26.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Estee Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 140.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estee Lauder Companies

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 35.2% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 415 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 4.7% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 3.1% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 10,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on EL. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. HSBC boosted their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank upped their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group increased their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $83.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.73.

About Estee Lauder Companies

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is a global prestige beauty company founded in 1946 by Estée and Joseph Lauder. Based in New York City, it develops, markets and sells beauty products under a portfolio of brands, including Estée Lauder, Clinique, M·A·C, La Mer, Aveda and Jo Malone London. The company’s products span skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care. It reaches consumers through department stores, specialty retailers, its own stores and websites, and other online and travel-retail channels.