The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. cut its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 32.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,828 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,790 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,971,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330,840 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,900 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 695.4% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,123,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,994,000 after buying an additional 982,183 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,996,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,630,000 after buying an additional 954,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,575,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,054,314,000 after buying an additional 913,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EL. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.4 %

EL stock opened at $67.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.38, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $155.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $72.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.91.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -71.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 11.09 % 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 company 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.