Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Increases Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 47.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 509,393 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 164,783 shares during the quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $38,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,585,000. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 111.8% in the second quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 182,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,398,000 after purchasing an additional 96,239 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company's stock worth $13,392,000 after purchasing an additional 45,687 shares during the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company's stock worth $4,735,000 after buying an additional 41,773 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in 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 valued at $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 77,500 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.01 per share, with a total value of $4,960,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 234,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,010,345. The trade was a 49.36 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Estée Lauder Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, CICC Research initiated coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Twenty 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $96.50.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of EL traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $73.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,341,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,914,507. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $159.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 131.70, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

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.