Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 1,326 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,234 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,326 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. PARK CIRCLE Co bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on EL shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.90.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL opened at $64.59 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $84.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.84. The firm has a market cap of $23.19 billion, a PE ratio of 115.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 250.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The trade was a 6.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,296 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,366. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Company Profile

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.