Manitou Investment Management Ltd. Sells 224,874 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Manitou Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 99.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 424 shares of the company’s stock after selling 224,874 shares during the period. Manitou Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $32,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $8,585,000. Armistice Capital LLC boosted 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 worth $19,398,000 after buying an additional 96,239 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,392,000 after buying an additional 45,687 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,735,000 after buying an additional 41,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in 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 worth $570,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.68.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $80.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.68 and a 200-day moving average of $84.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.30, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.02. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. 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 1.74%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 250.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, 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 approximately $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 77,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 234,500 shares in the company, valued at $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

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.