Virtu Financial LLC Sells 43,904 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Virtu Financial LLC lessened its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,417 shares of the company's stock after selling 43,904 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EL. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter worth $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. PARK CIRCLE Co acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 63.9% during the second quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 431 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE EL traded down $0.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $80.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,841,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,580,416. The firm has a market cap of $28.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 144.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.05. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $159.75. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $78.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.17.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 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 firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is 250.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on EL shares. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. HSBC downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.57.

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.