Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Acquires Shares of 84,316 The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 84,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,405,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,434 shares of the company's stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 2.3% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $798,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter worth $848,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 38,953 shares of the company's stock worth $3,883,000 after buying an additional 2,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 21.3% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 83,498 shares of the company's stock worth $8,324,000 after buying an additional 14,688 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE EL traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $63.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,633,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,462,082. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $84.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.85. 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.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,714.49. The trade was a 20.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $4,578,114. This represents a 6.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,296 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,366 over the last 90 days. 12.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EL. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. B. Riley dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Nineteen investment 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.