Webster Bank N. A. Sells 921 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Webster Bank N. A. lessened its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,404 shares of the company’s stock after selling 921 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,392,000 after buying an additional 45,687 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% in the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,735,000 after buying an additional 41,773 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 111,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,067,000 after acquiring an additional 32,215 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 75,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,128,300. This trade represents a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL opened at $82.58 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $75.37 and a 200 day moving average of $84.46. 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 Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $159.75. The company has a market capitalization 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 issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 250.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EL. UBS Group upped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Twenty equities research 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.68.

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.