Cullen Investment Group LTD. Has $891,000 Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 3.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,940 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 34.1% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 3,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 25.6% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 11.9% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 849 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE EL traded up $0.45 on Friday, hitting $95.86. 2,269,396 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,218,974. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $34.37 billion, a PE ratio of 53.86, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.04 and a 200-day moving average of $114.34. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.39 and a 12 month high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.39. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,714.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,714.49. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,578,114. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.64.

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.