Edgewood Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Edgewood Management LLC cut its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 99.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,896,962 shares during the period. Edgewood Management LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 111.8% in the second quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 182,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,398,000 after acquiring an additional 96,239 shares during the last quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 40.9% in the third quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 111,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,067,000 after purchasing an additional 32,215 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920,439 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at $6,043,000. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at $558,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on EL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,578,114. This represents a 6.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.01 per share, with a total value of $4,960,775.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 234,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,010,345. This represents a 49.36 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $66.85 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.75. The company has a market capitalization of $24.00 billion, a PE ratio of 119.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.05. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $83.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.90.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 250.00%.

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.