KBC Group NV Purchases 67,748 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 36.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 253,764 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 67,748 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.07% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $25,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EL. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. PARK CIRCLE Co acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,578,114. The trade was a 6.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,296 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,366. 12.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.7 %

EL traded down $1.08 on Friday, reaching $63.75. 3,633,144 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,462,082. 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 current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $22.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.91, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $84.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.85.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. B. Riley reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $136.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.90.

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.