Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 70,307 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,679,154 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 70,307 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.30% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $464,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the third 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 period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% in the 2nd 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. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,078,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% during the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company's stock worth $368,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,320 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

EL stock traded down $0.98 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $80.04. 2,841,817 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,580,416. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.73 billion, a PE ratio of 144.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.17. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $159.75. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies's revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 250.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.57.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 75,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 310,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,128,300. The trade was a 32.20 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 owns 295,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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.