The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 26.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,738 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,764 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $794,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,938,000 after buying an additional 1,078,926 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 695.4% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,123,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,994,000 after purchasing an additional 982,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,127.5% in the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,059,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,580,000 after buying an additional 972,799 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $71.71 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.77, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.89. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.54.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on EL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.