The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,508,164 shares of the company's stock after selling 385,974 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.42% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $113,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,382,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,078,406,000 after buying an additional 8,930,011 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $251,304,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 11,026.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,343,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $250,704,000 after acquiring an additional 3,313,557 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 148.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,481,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $410,984,000 after acquiring an additional 3,278,632 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,014,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,025,532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,210 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.80. 739,763 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,262,535. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.37 and a 52-week high of $149.91. The company has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a PE ratio of -27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $65.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 2.60%. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on EL shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $82.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. This trade 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 owned by corporate insiders.

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.