Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 221 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,013 shares of the company’s stock after selling 221 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,392,000 after buying an additional 45,687 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 41,773 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 0.5 %

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $71.71 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.89. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.77, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

Estée Lauder Companies Company Profile

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, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.