Eagle Bay Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 297.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 401 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $30,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $570,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in 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 valued at $211,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,439 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,320 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $74.95 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $159.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.19. The company has a market capitalization of $26.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 133.84, a PEG ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 1.02.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.50.

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.