Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 254,071 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 80.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,890 shares of the company's stock after selling 254,071 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $6,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EL. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter worth $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. PARK CIRCLE Co acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 63.9% in the second quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 431 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 75,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $64.93 per share, for a total transaction of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,128,300. The trade was a 32.20 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock traded down $1.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.12. 3,620,919 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,537,056. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $25.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $81.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.20. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is presently 250.00%.

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.