Advisors Asset Management Inc. Purchases 11,934 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 53.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,094 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,934 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $3,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 2.1% in the second quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 7,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 2.1% during the second quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 7,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at $20,045,982.88. This trade 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 through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.01 per share, with a total value of $4,960,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,010,345. This represents a 49.36 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America cut 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 4.6 %

EL opened at $69.93 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.48. 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 Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $159.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.88, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.05.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 250.00%.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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.