Plato Investment Management Ltd Boosts Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,247 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 111.8% during the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 182,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,398,000 after acquiring an additional 96,239 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,920,439 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth about $6,043,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter worth about $558,000. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 111,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,067,000 after buying an additional 32,215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 3.1 %

NYSE:EL opened at $64.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.75, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $159.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.68.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 250.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. This represents a 6.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,296 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,366. 12.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.90.

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.