Impax Asset Management Group plc Raises Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 21.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,498 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,688 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $8,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 2.1% in the second quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 7,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 844 shares of the company's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EL. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Estée Lauder Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.90.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE EL traded down $1.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $63.75. The stock had a trading volume of 3,633,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,462,082. The company has a market capitalization of $22.88 billion, a PE ratio of 113.91, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.05. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $84.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.85.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 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 the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 471.43%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. This represents a 20.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,296 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,366 over the last quarter. 12.78% of the stock is 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.