Qsemble Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Qsemble Capital Management LP cut its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 36.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,975 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,100 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $570,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533,006 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the third 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 period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,320 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920,439 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,338,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,443,000 after purchasing an additional 35,364 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 234,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,010,345. This represents a 49.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $72.97 on Tuesday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.75. 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 stock has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.63.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 471.43%.

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.