Sanctuary Advisors LLC Has $2.60 Million Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 28.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,107 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,243 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EL. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. PARK CIRCLE Co bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:EL opened at $78.19 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.63, a PEG ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.81. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 75,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.93 per share, for a total transaction of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,128,300. This represents a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on EL shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. HSBC downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.57.

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.