Webster Bank N. A. Decreases Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Webster Bank N. A. lowered its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,404 shares of the company’s stock after selling 921 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EL. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 75,500 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.93 per share, for a total transaction of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,128,300. This represents a 32.20 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EL shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $63.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. B. Riley dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.68.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL stock opened at $82.58 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $75.37 and its 200 day moving average is $84.46. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $62.29 and a one year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $29.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.02.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 250.00%.

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.