The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 80.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,927 shares of the company's stock after selling 252,797 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.'s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $6,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EL. Armistice Capital LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 111.8% during the second quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 182,312 shares of the company's stock worth $19,398,000 after buying an additional 96,239 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position 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 valued at $570,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533,006 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co grew its position 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 valued at $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 41,773 shares during the period. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 40.9% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at $6,043,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EL. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price 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. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.57.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 75,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,128,300. The trade was a 32.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE EL traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.34. 4,894,284 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,571,659. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $159.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.48 billion, a PE ratio of 141.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.05. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $80.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.85.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

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.