Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 31.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,934 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,656 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $4,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 113.7% in the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 156,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,900,000 after acquiring an additional 83,320 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter worth $997,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter worth $558,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,477.8% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 566,180 shares of the company's stock worth $82,804,000 after buying an additional 550,355 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 367,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,608,000 after buying an additional 5,915 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total transaction of $1,815,989.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,958,990.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $91.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,446,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,055,529. 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 Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.05 and a 1-year high of $165.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.48.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.39. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is 148.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EL. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Bernstein Bank lifted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $191.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $124.39.

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.