Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 18,266 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Nordea Investment Management AB decreased its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,148,551 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,266 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.32% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $86,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,575,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,054,314,000 after buying an additional 913,470 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533,006 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,679,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,587,000 after acquiring an additional 70,307 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

EL opened at $74.11 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $26.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 132.34, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.02. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced 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. 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 net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is presently 250.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on EL. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on 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. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 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 transaction, the director now owns 310,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,128,300. This represents a 32.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

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.