The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,733 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,199 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $2,562,000. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 88.0% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 103,168 shares of the company's stock worth $7,735,000 after purchasing an additional 48,294 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 7,858,158 shares of the company's stock worth $589,205,000 after purchasing an additional 2,458,379 shares during the last quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 174.6% during the fourth quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 72,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,420,000 after buying an additional 45,958 shares during the period. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 2,329.9% during the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 6,081 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $57.33. 3,363,656 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,061,194. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $64.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.61. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.37 and a 12-month high of $149.91.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -71.79%.

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.