Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $7.69 Million Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund reduced its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 81.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,192 shares of the company’s stock after selling 135,923 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $7,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 56.1% in the first quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 38.6% in the first quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 3,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 887 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 50.6% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 12,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,144,000 after acquiring an additional 4,255 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 16.0% in the first quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 44,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,098 shares during the period. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 21.8% in the first quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.93, for a total transaction of $272,866.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,421,020.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 12,661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.75, for a total value of $1,933,967.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,523,450. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.93, for a total value of $272,866.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,845 shares in the company, valued at $7,421,020.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.75% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $154.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.08 billion, a PE ratio of 55.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.46. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.18 and a fifty-two week high of $283.62.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 18th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.48 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 6.32% and a return on equity of 21.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 94.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on EL. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $243.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $214.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $220.00 to $195.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $215.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.31.

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