Insider Selling: Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Director Sells $2,348,444.56 in Stock

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Director Paul Fribourg sold 20,972 shares of Estee Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.98, for a total value of $2,348,444.56. Following the sale, the director owned 396,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,380,809.44. This represents a 5.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Estee Lauder Companies Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $112.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $40.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.98, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.65. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.22 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 26.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Estee Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 140.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. CICC Research raised Estee Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Argus upped their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estee Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.73.

Latest Estee Lauder Companies News

Here’s some of the latest news about EL:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $132 from $121 and maintained a Buy rating, pointing to potential upside. Analysts also see improvement in Estée Lauder’s China business as support for its turnaround, sales growth and margins. Citigroup rating information Barron’s article on China and the turnaround
• Neutral Sentiment: Estée Lauder’s annual stockholder meeting is scheduled for November 17; no specific financial or strategic changes were noted in the announcement. Annual meeting notice
• Negative Sentiment: Director Paul Fribourg reported selling 2,406 shares on November 9, following a sale of 20,972 shares on November 5. Repeated insider sales can raise concerns, although he continued to hold a substantial position. SEC filing on the November 9 sale

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EL. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 950.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,843,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $993,567,000 after purchasing an additional 12,526,471 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 33.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,909,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,074,000 after purchasing an additional 482,185 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,827,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,538,000 after purchasing an additional 387,596 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new stake in Estee Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $134,551,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 44.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,192,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,559,000 after purchasing an additional 365,651 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estee Lauder Companies Company Profile

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.