QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $1.60 Million Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 14.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,017 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,025 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at $30,000. PARK CIRCLE Co bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 163.0% during the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the business’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 value of $743,259.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,296 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,366. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 4.8 %

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $66.31 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.88 and a fifty-two week high of $159.75. The stock has a market cap of $23.79 billion, a PE ratio of 118.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 471.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.90.

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.