Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 2,922 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC cut its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 54.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,427 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,922 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $242,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 111.8% in the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 182,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,398,000 after purchasing an additional 96,239 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,735,000 after buying an additional 41,773 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 40.9% during the third quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 111,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,067,000 after acquiring an additional 32,215 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. B. Riley decreased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $74.70 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $76.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.57. The company has a market cap of $26.82 billion, a PE ratio of 133.39, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 250.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 75,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,128,300. This trade represents a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

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.