Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 237 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lessened its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,298 shares of the company’s stock after selling 237 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 752.9% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on EL. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.68.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $82.58 on Friday. 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 Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $159.75. The company has a market capitalization of $29.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.46, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $75.37 and its 200 day moving average is $84.72.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 75,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 310,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,128,300. This trade represents a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.