Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd Sells 1,206 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 59.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 808 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,206 shares during the period. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $61,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the 4th 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. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of EL stock opened at $82.58 on Monday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.75. The firm has a market cap of $29.64 billion, a PE ratio of 147.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $75.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during 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%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 250.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.68.

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.