Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 11,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,184,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% in 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. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,686,550 shares of the company's stock worth $3,188,832,000 after buying an additional 1,250,555 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in 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 valued at $402,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,926 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company's stock worth $368,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,320 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter worth $82,664,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $64.08. The company had a trading volume of 2,325,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,456,220. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. The stock has a market cap of $23.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $85.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.42.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 471.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The trade was a 20.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. This trade represents a 6.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,296 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,366. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EL. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $136.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.