Natixis Advisors LLC Has $19.75 Million Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 60.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 198,059 shares of the company's stock after selling 302,227 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $19,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $402,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,926 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company's stock valued at $368,788,000 after buying an additional 1,066,320 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000,000 after buying an additional 1,920,439 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 991,871 shares of the company's stock worth $105,535,000 after buying an additional 33,672 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 772,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,144,000 after acquiring an additional 245,600 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target 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. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.57.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The trade was a 20.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.01 per share, with a total value of $4,960,775.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 234,500 shares in the company, valued at $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 18,296 shares of company stock worth $1,423,366 in the last ninety days. 12.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL stock traded down $0.68 on Wednesday, reaching $64.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,919,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,456,542. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $159.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50-day moving average is $83.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.36.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 471.43%.

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.