The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Sandy Spring Bank

Sandy Spring Bank decreased its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 77.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,667 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,718 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EL. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the 3rd 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 increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 3,524 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,533,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company's stock worth $4,735,000 after buying an additional 41,773 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $65.83. 2,233,877 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,944,706. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $155.73. The firm has a market cap of $23.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.76, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $72.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.50.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is -71.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on EL. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. CICC Research started coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.