Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) VP Sells $467,824.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Estee Lauder VP Meridith Webster sold 4,177 shares for $467,824, at an average price of $112 per share, according to an SEC filing.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.72, beating estimates of $0.51, while revenue of $3.72 billion exceeded forecasts and rose 6.7% year over year.
• Shares traded at $111.69 on Friday. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $110.73.

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) VP Meridith Webster sold 4,177 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $467,824.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Estee Lauder Companies Price Performance

Estee Lauder Companies stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $111.69. 2,330,912 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,797,250. The company has a market cap of $40.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 111.69, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $101.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.22 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.21. Estee Lauder Companies had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 26.99%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Estee Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. Estee Lauder Companies's payout ratio is presently 140.00%.

Institutional Trading of Estee Lauder Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 6.6% in the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 225,990 shares of the company's stock worth $20,965,000 after purchasing an additional 13,911 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 19.2% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 57,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,325,000 after buying an additional 9,239 shares during the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 24.0% during the third quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 18.1% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,287 shares of the company's stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 1.8% in the third quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 71,444 shares of the company's stock worth $6,654,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EL. Deutsche Bank upped their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. CICC Research raised Estee Lauder Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Monday, August 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $116.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Estee Lauder Companies from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.73.

About Estee Lauder Companies

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is a global prestige beauty company founded in 1946 by Estée and Joseph Lauder. Based in New York City, it develops, markets and sells beauty products under a portfolio of brands, including Estée Lauder, Clinique, M·A·C, La Mer, Aveda and Jo Malone London. The company's products span skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care. It reaches consumers through department stores, specialty retailers, its own stores and websites, and other online and travel-retail channels.

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