Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Stock Price Down 3.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) fell 3.7% on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $140.00 to $100.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Estée Lauder Companies traded as low as $89.05 and last traded at $89.40. 1,232,182 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 2,950,719 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.85.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on EL. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Bernstein Bank lifted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $141.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $131.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total transaction of $1,815,989.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,958,990.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total value of $1,815,989.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,958,990.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total transaction of $1,670,107.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $728,598.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. PARK CIRCLE Co acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 4.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $31.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.50, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $102.67 and its 200-day moving average is $127.28.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.31%.

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, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.