The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 35.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,919 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,636 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Wealth Services grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Biltmore Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 7.8% in the third quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 2,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on EL. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL stock opened at $71.71 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.05. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $159.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a PE ratio of -36.77, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the purchase, 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 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.