The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. $EL Stock Holdings Increased by Cacti Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Cacti Asset Management increased its Estée Lauder stake by 75.5% in the third quarter, acquiring 99,142 additional shares for a total of 230,475 shares valued at approximately $21.75 million.
• Estée Lauder shares fell 3.3% to $89.71, while the company’s latest earnings exceeded expectations with $0.39 in EPS versus $0.32 expected and revenue of $3.64 billion.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $104.67; the company also pays a $0.35 quarterly dividend, while insiders have recently sold more than $7.4 million in shares.

Cacti Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 75.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 230,475 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 99,142 shares during the period. Estee Lauder Companies accounts for approximately 1.2% of Cacti Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Cacti Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of Estee Lauder Companies worth $21,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 14.6% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 973,478 shares of the company's stock worth $69,854,000 after buying an additional 124,079 shares in the last quarter. S&CO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,586,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,972,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,528,000 after buying an additional 450,798 shares during the period. SummitTX Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in Estee Lauder Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $7,608,000. Finally, Ally Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Estee Lauder Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $2,684,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Down 3.3%

NYSE:EL traded down $3.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $89.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,198,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,840,701. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 183.11, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.28. 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 current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 1.21%.The company's revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.09 earnings per share. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.100-3.350 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estee Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Estee Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 285.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Estee Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, June 12th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $111.00 price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg sold 58,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.17, for a total transaction of $5,693,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 417,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,966,341. This trade represents a 12.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Rashida La Lande sold 7,766 shares of Estee Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.32, for a total transaction of $802,383.12. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 14,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,483,365.24. This trade represents a 35.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 75,105 shares of company stock worth $7,423,185 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.05% of the company's stock.

Estee Lauder Companies Company Profile

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc NYSE: EL is a global beauty company that develops, markets and sells prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. Its portfolio includes brands such as Estée Lauder, Clinique, La Mer, MAC, Bobbi Brown, Jo Malone London, Aveda, The Ordinary and Tom Ford Beauty.

The company's products are distributed through department stores, specialty retailers, freestanding stores, e-commerce platforms, travel retail outlets and other channels. Estée Lauder serves consumers in numerous markets across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Estée Lauder was founded in 1946 by Estée Lauder and her husband, Joseph Lauder, beginning with a small collection of skincare products.

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