Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Sells 1,300 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. cut its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,555 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. PARK CIRCLE Co acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EL. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $105.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.90.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,578,114. This trade represents a 6.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. This trade represents a 20.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,296 shares of company stock worth $1,423,366 over the last 90 days. 12.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL opened at $63.79 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $22.90 billion, a PE ratio of 113.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.85.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 471.43%.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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.