Quarry LP Trims Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Quarry LP cut its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 70.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,745 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,139 shares during the period. Quarry LP’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EL. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 48.3% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 47,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,536,000 after acquiring an additional 15,358 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $399,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 61.3% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 19,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 7,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 99,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,461,000 after acquiring an additional 12,903 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

EL opened at $59.10 on Tuesday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.37 and a 52-week high of $149.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $21.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.44.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -71.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.57.

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.