Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 141,804 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 45,687 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $13,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. PARK CIRCLE Co purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 63.9% during the second quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 77,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $64.01 per share, with a total value of $4,960,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,010,345. The trade was a 49.36 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

EL opened at $74.36 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.22. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $159.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 132.79, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.05.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 250.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on EL. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.57.

Estée Lauder Companies 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.