The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Northcape Capital Pty Ltd

Northcape Capital Pty Ltd trimmed its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,227 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Estée Lauder Companies makes up about 0.1% of Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth $8,585,000. Armistice Capital LLC increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 111.8% in the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 182,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,398,000 after purchasing an additional 96,239 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,392,000 after buying an additional 45,687 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,735,000 after buying an additional 41,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the third 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 period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $74.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.60 billion, a PE ratio of 132.34, a PEG ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.29 and a 1 year high of $159.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.30.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS 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 company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.46 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is presently 250.00%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $64.01 per share, with a total value of $4,960,775.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EL. Citigroup lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.50.

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.