Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Sells 75,632 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lessened its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 31.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 168,598 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75,632 shares during the quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $12,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,014,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,025,532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,210 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 163.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,382,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,078,406,000 after acquiring an additional 8,930,011 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 7,858,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,205,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458,379 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $554,509,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 148.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,481,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,984,000 after purchasing an additional 3,278,632 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE EL opened at $54.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.89, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $48.37 and a one year high of $149.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $64.81 and its 200-day moving average is $72.73.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS 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 company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on EL. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.57.

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.