QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 10,590 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 66.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,427 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,590 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company's stock worth $13,392,000 after purchasing an additional 45,687 shares during the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company's stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 3,524 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company's stock worth $570,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company's stock worth $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 41,773 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

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Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE EL traded up $1.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.32. The stock had a trading volume of 3,020,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,139,169. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.29 and a 1 year high of $159.54. The stock has a market cap of $26.32 billion, a PE ratio of -37.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $74.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. CICC Research initiated coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, December 27th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies 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.