World Investment Advisors LLC Takes $1.56 Million Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 15,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,555,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $570,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920,439 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,926 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,788,000 after buying an additional 1,066,320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 77,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,010,345. This represents a 49.36 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of Estée Lauder Companies 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

EL stock opened at $80.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.62. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $159.75. The stock has a market cap of $28.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EL. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $113.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.57.

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.