Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 21,121 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 263,016 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,121 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.07% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $26,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,775 shares of the company's stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 90,931 shares of the company's stock worth $14,017,000 after buying an additional 15,348 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,909 shares of the company's stock worth $1,990,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 51,135 shares of the company's stock worth $7,882,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on EL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Estée Lauder Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. HSBC lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. B. Riley lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $136.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.90.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 1.4 %

EL traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $63.62. 2,099,133 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,449,185. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $86.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.95. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.05.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The firm's revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is 471.43%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,578,114. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,296 shares of company stock worth $1,423,366. 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.