Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Makes New $31,000 Investment in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,686,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,188,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,555 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,926 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% during the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,320 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,163,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,612,000 after buying an additional 140,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $211,000,000 after buying an additional 1,920,439 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,578,114. This trade represents a 6.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,714.49. This trade represents a 20.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,296 shares of company stock worth $1,423,366 in the last three months. 12.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EL has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America decreased their price target 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. Finally, B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.90.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of EL opened at $64.82 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 current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $85.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.75, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.05.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 250.00%.

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.