Parallel Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Parallel Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 36.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,130 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,355 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $67.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.38, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $72.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.91. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $155.73.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on EL. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. CICC Research began coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

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.