Paloma Partners Management Co Has $4.74 Million Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Paloma Partners Management Co increased its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 729.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,500 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,773 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $4,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. PARK CIRCLE Co acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 63.9% in the second quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 431 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EL shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $105.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Estée Lauder Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $113.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 75,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.93 per share, for a total transaction of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,128,300. This trade represents a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 3.4 %

Estée Lauder Companies stock traded up $2.44 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $74.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,039,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,530,328. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $81.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. Estée Lauder Companies's revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.48 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.