The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Purchased by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. boosted its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 48.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 999,517 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 325,722 shares during the quarter. Estée Lauder Companies accounts for 2.1% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $99,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased 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 worth $211,000,000 after buying an additional 1,920,439 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,926 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,127.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,059,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,580,000 after acquiring an additional 972,799 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,010,345. This represents a 49.36 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:EL traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $73.90. The stock had a trading volume of 181,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,508,348. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. 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 stock has a market cap of $26.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.30, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.63.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 471.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. B. Riley lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.57.

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.