Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 7,138 Shares of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. $EL

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. by 30.7% in the first quarter, now holding 16,147 shares valued at approximately $1,066,000.
• Various hedge funds adjusted their positions in Estee Lauder Companies, with Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increasing its stake by 1,182.1%.
• The company recently reported $3.41 billion in revenue for the quarter, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, despite a year-over-year decline of 11.9% in revenue.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 30.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,147 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,138 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Estee Lauder Companies were worth $1,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EL. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 91,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,838,000 after purchasing an additional 4,690 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. bought a new stake in Estee Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $487,000. Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in Estee Lauder Companies by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,472 shares of the company's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. BNP Paribas grew its position in Estee Lauder Companies by 149.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 18,291 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 10,944 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in Estee Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $299,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Estee Lauder Companies news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.65, for a total value of $339,288.30. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,418,650.35. This represents a 19.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Lande Rashida La sold 6,417 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.88, for a total value of $589,593.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $90.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays upped their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $63.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Estee Lauder Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Estee Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estee Lauder Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $87.80.

Estee Lauder Companies Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of EL traded up $1.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $89.20. 3,698,356 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,126,418. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.37 and a 1-year high of $103.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.10 billion, a PE ratio of -28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $89.56 and a 200-day moving average of $73.80.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. Estee Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 12.37% and a negative net margin of 7.91%.The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-2.100 EPS. Analysts expect that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Estee Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently -44.59%.

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.