The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Acquired by Eagle Asset Management Inc.

Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,199 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,974 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,926 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% during the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,320 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920,439 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,338,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,443,000 after purchasing an additional 35,364 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 234,500 shares in the company, valued at $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $72.97 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 471.43%.

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