William Allan Corp Grows Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

William Allan Corp grew its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,167 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. William Allan Corp’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,533,006 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,920,439 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in the second 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. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $105,580,000 after acquiring an additional 972,799 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $73.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $26.55 billion, a PE ratio of 132.07, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $81.69 and its 200 day moving average is $96.89. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 471.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 77,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $64.01 per share, with a total value of $4,960,775.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,010,345. This represents a 49.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.