The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC decreased its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 81.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,628 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,789 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,392,000 after buying an additional 45,687 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares during the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,735,000 after acquiring an additional 41,773 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $352,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $66.97 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $155.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $24.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. CICC Research initiated coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

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.