New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 286,735 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,535 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.08% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $21,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of EL opened at $71.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a PE ratio of -36.77, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average is $74.83 and its 200 day moving average is $81.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $159.54.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its 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 negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on EL. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

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.