Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 595 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 552,336 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $55,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 111.8% in the second 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 last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000,000 after buying an additional 1,920,439 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,043,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $558,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 367,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,608,000 after acquiring an additional 5,915 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. This represents a 20.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of Estée Lauder Companies 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,296 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,366. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $113.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered shares of 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 note on Thursday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Raymond James cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.90.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE EL opened at $63.79 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $159.75. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.13 and a 200-day moving average of $101.42. The company has a market capitalization of $22.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.91, a P/E/G 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.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 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.