The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Bought by Hartford Funds Management Co LLC

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC boosted its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,704 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth about $31,000. PARK CIRCLE Co purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 63.9% during the second quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on EL shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $113.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Nineteen equities research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 4.6 %

EL opened at $69.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $25.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.88, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 1.05. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $159.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.26.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 471.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 75,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,128,300. This represents a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The trade was a 6.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is 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.