Arizona State Retirement System Acquires 3,170 Shares of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,472 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,170 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Estee Lauder Companies were worth $4,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 626 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 116.2% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 668 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 41.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 787 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 58.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 906 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the first quarter worth $73,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on EL shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $63.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America began coverage on Estee Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $60.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $80.95.

Estee Lauder Companies Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE EL traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $86.37. 2,981,232 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,304,461. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.37 and a 52 week high of $103.44. The stock has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a PE ratio of -35.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 1.17.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.51 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 15.60% and a negative net margin of 5.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Estee Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is -57.85%.

Estee 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, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.