Synovus Financial Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Synovus Financial Corp lessened its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,094 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,071 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. PARK CIRCLE Co acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $78.19 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $28.07 billion, a PE ratio of 139.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $77.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.81. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.29 and a 1 year high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid 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 1.79%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 250.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 75,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,128,300. This represents a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.