The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Bought by Eagle Asset Management Inc.

Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 37.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,199 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,974 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,439 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,926 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,127.5% during the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,059,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,580,000 after purchasing an additional 972,799 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 75,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at $20,128,300. The trade was a 32.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. 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.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 4.3 %

EL opened at $72.97 on Tuesday. 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 quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.63. The firm has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 471.43%.

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.