Quadrature Capital Ltd Has $12.73 Million Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 311.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 127,689 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 96,619 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $12,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Armistice Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 111.8% during the second quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 182,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,398,000 after acquiring an additional 96,239 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $570,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% during the 3rd 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. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 111,012 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,067,000 after purchasing an additional 32,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,043,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group reduced their target price on 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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 Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,128,300. The trade was a 32.20 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $77.95. 2,613,995 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,558,801. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $80.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.96. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $27.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.05.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. Estée Lauder Companies's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. Analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.48 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 250.00%.

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.