S&CO Inc. Buys 24,414 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

S&CO Inc. raised its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 71.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,689 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 24,414 shares during the period. S&CO Inc.'s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $5,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. PARK CIRCLE Co purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,578,114. This trade represents a 6.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,296 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,366 over the last three months. 12.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. B. Riley dropped their target price on shares of 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. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.90.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL stock opened at $63.75 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $84.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.53. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $159.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.88 billion, a PE ratio of 113.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 471.43%.

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.

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