Versor Investments LP Reduces Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Versor Investments LP reduced its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 66.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,620 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,030 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EL. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,971,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,807,000 after buying an additional 1,330,840 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,510,000 after buying an additional 1,310,900 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 695.4% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,123,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,994,000 after buying an additional 982,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,127.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,059,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,580,000 after acquiring an additional 972,799 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, January 31st. B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought 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 approximately $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $70.18 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $74.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.13. The company has a market capitalization of $25.19 billion, a PE ratio of -35.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.54. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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 positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

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.