Wendell David Associates Inc. Sells 780 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Wendell David Associates Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:ELFree Report) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,427 shares of the company’s stock after selling 780 shares during the period. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,910,000 after buying an additional 9,427 shares during the last quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 19,105.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 7,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $79.75 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $28.63 billion, a PE ratio of 142.41, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.96. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:ELGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 250.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, HSBC downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.68.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on EL

Estée Lauder Companies Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL)

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