The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Acquired by LRI Investments LLC

LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 325.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,381 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,881 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. PARK CIRCLE Co acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 63.9% during the second quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EL shares. HSBC cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.57.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value 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 $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 75,500 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,128,300. This trade represents a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 3.0 %

EL stock opened at $81.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.65. The firm has a market cap of $29.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.89, a PEG ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 1.05.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share 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 net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.