Empowered Funds LLC Buys 241 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 7.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,434 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EL. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 111.8% in the second quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 182,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,398,000 after buying an additional 96,239 shares in the last quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 111,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,067,000 after purchasing an additional 32,215 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,920,439 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $6,043,000. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth $558,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL opened at $72.97 on Tuesday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $159.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.63. The stock has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a PE ratio of 130.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate 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 declared 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. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 471.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 75,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EL shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report 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 company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.57.

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.