Pitcairn Co. Lowers Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Pitcairn Co. lessened its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 44.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,389 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,455 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% during 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. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,788,000 after buying an additional 1,066,320 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake 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 valued at $211,000,000 after buying an additional 1,920,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,338,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,443,000 after buying an additional 35,364 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on EL. TD Cowen cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.57.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,578,114. This represents a 6.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL stock opened at $69.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $62.29 and a one year high of $159.75. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.88, a PEG ratio of 4.04 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 471.43%.

Estée Lauder Companies 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.