Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Raises Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,708 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,008 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $5,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. PARK CIRCLE Co bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 63.9% in the second 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 period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of EL opened at $72.17 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.46. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.88, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 471.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $64.01 per share, with a total value of $4,960,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 234,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,010,345. The trade was a 49.36 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EL has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $105.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America lowered 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.57.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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.