Gabelli Funds LLC Has $633,000 Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 50.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,950 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $633,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,686,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,188,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,555 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,320 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 4.6% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,163,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,612,000 after purchasing an additional 140,416 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,962,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,262,000 after buying an additional 318,257 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $291,171,000. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on EL. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $129.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,714.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 stock was 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 $1,423,714.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the 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. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $100.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $92.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.14 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.00. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.39 and a 52 week high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 148.31%.

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.