Virtu Financial LLC Sells 15,789 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Virtu Financial LLC cut its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 81.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,628 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,789 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EL. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,452,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth $1,032,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 10,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,816 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth $523,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,293,000 after buying an additional 9,819 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

EL opened at $66.97 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.34. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.29 and a 1 year high of $155.73. The stock has a market cap of $24.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

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.