S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC Decreases Stake in The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. $EL

Key Points

• S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC reduced its stake in The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. by 13.7%, selling 17,480 shares, which now makes up 2.8% of its total holdings.
• Estee Lauder recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, representing a 1.7% dividend yield for investors.
• Research analysts have generally upgraded their outlook for Estee Lauder, with several raising price targets and maintaining a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $87.80.

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,273 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,480 shares during the quarter. Estee Lauder Companies makes up 2.8% of S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC's holdings in Estee Lauder Companies were worth $8,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cacti Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 42.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cacti Asset Management LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new stake in Estee Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $635,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 50,185 shares of the company's stock worth $3,312,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank increased its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,200 shares of the company's stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Estee Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $11,257,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Estee Lauder Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $60.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $90.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.55.

Estee Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL traded down $1.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $86.83. 1,045,115 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,066,618. The stock has a market cap of $31.25 billion, a PE ratio of -27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $89.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.72. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.37 and a 12 month high of $103.44.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 12.37% and a negative net margin of 7.91%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-2.100 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Estee Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -44.59%.

Insider Transactions at Estee Lauder Companies

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

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.