Mizuho Securities USA LLC Increases Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 887.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 177,282 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 159,326 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $17,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.3% during the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 2.1% during the second quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 7,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 22.3% in the second quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 844 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 4.6% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,714.49. This trade represents a 20.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,296 shares of company stock worth $1,423,366. 12.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on EL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.90.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $63.75 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.53. The firm has a market cap of $22.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.84, a PEG ratio of 3.80 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. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $62.29 and a one year high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 471.43%.

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.