ING Groep NV Has $2.23 Million Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

ING Groep NV lessened its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 90.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,710 shares of the company’s stock after selling 272,195 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reduced their target price 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. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

EL opened at $71.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.77, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.96. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -71.79%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.