Wells Fargo & Company Trims Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Target Price to $117.00

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $130.00 to $117.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on EL. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $191.00 to $130.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Bernstein Bank lifted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $175.00 to $135.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Raymond James lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $124.39.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 2.4 %

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $93.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.62, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.09. Estée Lauder Companies has a twelve month low of $86.05 and a twelve month high of $165.76.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 148.31%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,958,990.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 163.0% in the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,262.5% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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.