Quadrature Capital Ltd Sells 392,319 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Quadrature Capital Ltd lowered its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 82.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,219 shares of the company’s stock after selling 392,319 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $12,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total transaction of $1,815,989.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,389 shares in the company, valued at $6,958,990.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total value of $1,815,989.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,958,990.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 5,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $728,598.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,255 shares of company stock valued at $5,453,232 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.75.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

EL stock opened at $114.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.19 billion, a PE ratio of 64.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.04. 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 Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $102.22 and a one year high of $201.56. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $132.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.68.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 148.32%.

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