The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Purchased by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV raised its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 393.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 301,905 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 240,749 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $30,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EL. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter worth about $203,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 20.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 90,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,017,000 after buying an additional 15,348 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,990,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 4.6% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. B. Riley dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,296 shares of company stock worth $1,423,366 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of EL stock traded up $1.73 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $64.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,129,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,448,302. The company has a market capitalization of $23.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.68.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

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