Prospera Financial Services Inc Boosts Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,992 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 2.1% during the second quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 7,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 22.3% during the second quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 844 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 7,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EL. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given 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 price target of $98.57.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,578,114. This trade represents a 6.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 4.6 %

EL stock opened at $69.93 on Monday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $159.75. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $82.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.88, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 1.05.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released 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 business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 471.43%.

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.