Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 15,487 Shares of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. $EL

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Estée Lauder by 10.9% in the first quarter, selling 15,487 shares and leaving it with 126,038 shares valued at about $9.05 million.
• Other institutional investors have been active in EL as well, and hedge funds and other institutions now own 55.15% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts currently have a mixed view on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with a consensus price target of $99.16, even though Estée Lauder recently beat earnings expectations and raised FY2026 guidance to 2.33-2.43 EPS.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 126,038 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,487 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Estee Lauder Companies were worth $9,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Covenant Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $3,634,000. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 201,255 shares of the company's stock worth $21,075,000 after purchasing an additional 23,717 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth $14,619,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Estee Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $19,438,000. Finally, WT Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. WT Asset Management Ltd now owns 53,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,550,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Estee Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $124.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $99.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Estee Lauder Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $99.16.

Estee Lauder Companies Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE EL opened at $82.98 on Friday. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.22 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $30.02 billion, a PE ratio of -118.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.83 and a 200 day moving average of $91.26.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 20.66% and a negative net margin of 1.67%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.330-2.430 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Estee Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -200.00%.

Estee Lauder Companies Company Profile

Estée Lauder Companies Inc NYSE: EL is a global leader in prestige beauty that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. Founded in 1946 by Estée Lauder, the company has grown from a small family business into a multinational consumer-products enterprise headquartered in New York City. Its activities span product research and development, brand and product marketing, manufacturing and global distribution across multiple retail channels.

The company's portfolio includes a mix of legacy and prestige brands that target different consumer segments and price points, with well-known names such as Estée Lauder, Clinique, MAC, La Mer and Jo Malone among others.

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