Candriam S.C.A. lessened its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 92.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,541 shares of the company's stock after selling 243,406 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.00.
View Our Latest Research Report on EL
Shares of EL traded down $1.31 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $72.00. The stock had a trading volume of 3,096,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,702,616. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $74.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.53. The company has a market cap of $25.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.92, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.54.
Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is currently -71.79%.
In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.
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.
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