The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Holdings Decreased by UMB Bank n.a.

UMB Bank n.a. lessened its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 76.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 572 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,867 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $43,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 752.9% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EL shares. Citigroup downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America decreased 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 note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.68.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 75,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $20,128,300. This represents a 32.20 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 3.1 %

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $82.58 on Friday. The firm 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is presently 250.00%.

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.