Quest Partners LLC Sells 1,251 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Quest Partners LLC cut its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 41.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,773 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,251 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 1,133 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $409,000. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,137.6% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 399,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 367,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 31,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,651,000 after purchasing an additional 2,694 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on EL. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Piper Sandler raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Raymond James cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $4,578,114. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,714.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL opened at $84.56 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.39 and a twelve month high of $159.75. The company has a market cap of $30.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.00.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.39. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 148.32%.

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, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.