The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. $EL Stock: Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Raises Position

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management increased its Estee Lauder stake by 26.9% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 1.83 million shares valued at approximately $169.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 55.15% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but improving: Estee Lauder has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $106.33, with several firms recently raising targets and Barclays upgrading the stock to “Overweight.”
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations with $0.39 in adjusted EPS and $3.64 billion in revenue, up 6.3% year over year. Shares opened at $103.56, while the company maintains a $0.35 quarterly dividend, yielding about 1.4%.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,827,512 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 387,596 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.51% of Estee Lauder Companies worth $169,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EL. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 950.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,843,765 shares of the company's stock worth $993,567,000 after buying an additional 12,526,471 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the third quarter valued at $134,551,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 910.3% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 707,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,792,000 after acquiring an additional 637,641 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,909,911 shares of the company's stock worth $137,074,000 after acquiring an additional 482,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 1,629.2% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 412,570 shares of the company's stock worth $32,572,000 after acquiring an additional 388,711 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.82, for a total value of $373,045.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,036,954.22. This represents a 6.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Rashida La Lande sold 7,766 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.32, for a total value of $802,383.12. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 14,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,483,365.24. The trade was a 35.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 75,105 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,185. Corporate insiders own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. B. Riley Financial reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Barclays raised shares of Estee Lauder Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $97.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.33.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Down 2.4%

NYSE:EL opened at $103.56 on Thursday. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.22 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $37.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 211.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.65. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.07. Estee Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 23.52%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.100-3.350 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Estee Lauder Companies's payout ratio is currently 285.71%.

About Estee Lauder Companies

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

Founded in 1946 by Estée and Joseph Lauder, the company began with four skincare products and has expanded into a multinational beauty business. Its products are sold through department and specialty stores, beauty retailers, brand-operated stores, e-commerce platforms, salons, spas and other distribution channels.

The Estée Lauder Companies serves consumers in markets across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

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