The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Sold by Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd

Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd lowered its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,307 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,401 shares during the period. Estée Lauder Companies comprises approximately 4.8% of Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $4,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $518,975,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,720,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512,982 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,311,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387,271 shares during the period. Carmignac Gestion lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,908.0% during the 4th quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 1,195,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,201 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,022,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,087,000 after acquiring an additional 742,449 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:EL traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $113.90. 2,782,250 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,616,356. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $40.84 billion, a PE ratio of 63.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $132.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.68. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.22 and a twelve month high of $204.41.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $1,967,134.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total transaction of $1,670,107.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $728,598.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total transaction of $1,967,134.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,255 shares of company stock worth $5,453,232. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Bernstein Bank raised their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $169.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.75.

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, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.