Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 887.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 177,282 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 159,326 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $17,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth about $8,405,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 7.5% during 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 increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 2.3% in 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. acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $848,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 38,953 shares of the company's stock worth $3,883,000 after purchasing an additional 2,299 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on EL. Stifel Nicolaus cut Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.90.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction 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 trade represents a 20.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The trade was a 6.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,296 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,366 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE EL opened at $63.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.53. 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 Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $62.29 and a one year high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. 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 is presently 471.43%.

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.