Highland Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 37.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,494 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,125 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 752.9% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EL shares. CICC Research started coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. HSBC downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 75,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.93 per share, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 12.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:EL traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $82.71. 3,519,551 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,205,422. 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 $29.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.70, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $77.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.83. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

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.