MML Investors Services LLC Sells 6,257 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

MML Investors Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,592 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,257 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirova boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirova now owns 50,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,863 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 65,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,409 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 81.5% in the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after buying an additional 14,573 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $443,000. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE EL opened at $59.54 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.37 and a 52 week high of $148.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.36. The company has a market cap of $21.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.53, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on EL shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Nineteen 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

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

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.