The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Stock Position Reduced by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC decreased its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 29.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 82,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,500 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $8,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EL. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 82,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,061,000 after buying an additional 7,808 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $334,000. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 104,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,324,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EL. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $131.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group dropped 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 research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.27.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 10.0 %

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $100.78 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.39 and a 1 year high of $159.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $92.35 and its 200-day moving average is $116.63. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $36.14 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.00.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.39. The company 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 2.50% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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