The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 10.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 284,137 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,804 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $30,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 163.0% in the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,262.5% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on EL shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Raymond James lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.77.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $91.66 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.05 and a 52-week high of $165.76. The company has a market capitalization of $32.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.81 and a 200 day moving average of $124.06.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.39. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,714.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,578,114. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.