Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,233 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,221 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $5,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 75,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.93 per share, for a total transaction of $4,902,215.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 310,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,128,300. The trade was a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on EL. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. HSBC cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.68.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $82.58 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.89. The firm has a market cap of $29.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.46, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.02.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released 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 business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 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.