Verition Fund Management LLC Has $3.34 Million Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 140.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,491 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,552 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $3,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Armistice Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 111.8% in the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 182,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,398,000 after purchasing an additional 96,239 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during 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. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted 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 buying an additional 32,215 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,043,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,439 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 75,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,128,300. This represents a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:EL traded down $1.52 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $77.77. 2,450,173 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,558,019. The business's 50-day moving average price is $80.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.05. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $159.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during 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%. The company's revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $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. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is 250.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.57.

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.