The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 309,866 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,127 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $23,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of EL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,014,303 shares of the company's stock worth $2,025,532,000 after buying an additional 2,344,210 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,575,926 shares of the company's stock worth $1,054,314,000 after acquiring an additional 913,470 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,996,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $374,630,000 after purchasing an additional 954,493 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,679,154 shares of the company's stock valued at $464,587,000 after acquiring an additional 70,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth $251,304,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased 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 research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE EL traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $52.78. 1,423,789 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,919,907. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.82 and a 12 month high of $149.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $69.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.03. 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 company has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a PE ratio of -27.06, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is -71.79%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 approximately $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies 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.