KBC Group NV Raises Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 253,764 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,748 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $25,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. PARK CIRCLE Co acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of Estée Lauder Companies 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 sale, the director now owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. This trade represents a 20.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,578,114. This trade represents a 6.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,296 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,366 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Nineteen 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.90.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.6 %

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $63.79 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $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.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.