Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 1,798,864 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Two Sigma Investments LP trimmed its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 80.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 436,457 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,798,864 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned about 0.12% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $32,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EL. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 163.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,382,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,078,406,000 after acquiring an additional 8,930,011 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $554,509,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $251,304,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 11,026.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,343,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,704,000 after purchasing an additional 3,313,557 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 148.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,481,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,984,000 after purchasing an additional 3,278,632 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EL. B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.20.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL opened at $66.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.81. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.37 and a 52-week high of $133.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.78 billion, a PE ratio of -33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.36. 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 $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -57.85%.

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.