Infusive Asset Management Inc. Trims Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Infusive Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 32.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,851 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,169 shares during the period. Infusive Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on EL. CICC Research started coverage on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $81.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE EL traded up $1.52 on Wednesday, reaching $57.46. 1,901,606 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,055,590. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.63 billion, a PE ratio of -29.47, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $48.37 and a one year high of $149.91. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $64.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

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

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.