Investors Buy High Volume of Estee Lauder Companies Put Options (NYSE:EL)

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 40,819 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 767% compared to the typical volume of 4,708 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg sold 58,000 shares of Estee Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.17, for a total value of $5,693,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 417,300 shares in the company, valued at $40,966,341. The trade was a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Rashida La Lande sold 7,766 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.32, for a total transaction of $802,383.12. Following the sale, the vice president owned 14,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,483,365.24. This represents a 35.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,105 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,185. Insiders own 11.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EL. Bank of America Corp DE boosted 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 buying an additional 12,526,471 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Estee Lauder Companies by 26.9% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,827,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,538,000 after acquiring an additional 387,596 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 33.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,909,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,074,000 after acquiring an additional 482,185 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Estee Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $134,551,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Estee Lauder Companies by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,137,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,826,000 after purchasing an additional 226,888 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Barclays raised 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. HSBC lifted their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Estee Lauder Companies from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $116.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Two research 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estee Lauder Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.96.

Estee Lauder Companies News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Estee Lauder Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Estée Lauder reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.72 per share, well above the approximately $0.51–$0.52 consensus, while revenue of $3.72 billion exceeded estimates of $3.65 billion and increased 6.7% year over year. Fiscal 2027 First Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability improved sharply as sales grew faster than costs, with operating income more than doubling according to coverage of the results. Fragrance was the standout category, with sales rising roughly 19%–20% and delivering the strongest operating margin among the company’s major categories. Q1 Earnings Beat on Fragrance Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its fiscal 2027 outlook, calling for $15.8 billion–$16.0 billion in revenue and $3.20–$3.45 in EPS. It also lifted its organic sales-growth forecast to 4%–5.5%, citing Beauty Reimagined, stronger fragrance demand and resilient China sales. Fiscal 2027 Outlook Raised
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target from $120 to $126 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying meaningful upside based on the cited share price. Royal Bank of Canada Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its target from $95 to $110 but retained an “equal weight” rating, indicating improved expectations without a bullish change in its overall stance. Wells Fargo Rating
• Negative Sentiment: The EPS guidance midpoint is slightly below consensus, and analysts note that growth may be front-loaded. Investors must also weigh the stock’s elevated valuation and reported cash-outflow concerns as the recovery continues.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE EL traded up $1.55 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $106.33. 1,665,109 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,796,816. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $38.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 216.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.86. Estee Lauder Companies has a 12-month low of $66.22 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.21. Estee Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 1.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Estee Lauder Companies will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estee Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. 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.