The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lowered its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 391,946 shares of the company’s stock after selling 145,661 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.11% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $29,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EL. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 81.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,971,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330,840 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 695.4% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,123,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,994,000 after purchasing an additional 982,183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $71.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.39. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.29 and a 1 year high of $159.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.83, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on EL shares. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. CICC Research started coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty 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, Estée Lauder Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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