The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Rovin Capital UT ADV

Rovin Capital UT ADV cut its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,725 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,271 shares during the period. Rovin Capital UT ADV’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EL. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920,439 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted 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 valued at $292,510,000 after buying an additional 1,310,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% during the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,320 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of Estée Lauder Companies 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,010,345. The trade was a 49.36 % 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.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $74.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $26.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 133.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $159.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.96.

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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 250.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EL. Citigroup lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. HSBC lowered 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.73.

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.