Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Reduces Holdings in The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. reduced its stake in The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. by 11.0%, selling 133,253 shares and now holds approximately 1,072,736 shares.
• Several hedge funds, including FMR LLC and Independent Franchise Partners LLP, have significantly increased their investments in Estee Lauder, reflecting a growing interest from institutional investors.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Estee Lauder, with estimates ranging from $84.50 to $100.00, as the company looks to recover from a decline in revenue over the past year.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. trimmed its holdings in The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,072,736 shares of the company's stock after selling 133,253 shares during the quarter. Estee Lauder Companies makes up approximately 1.7% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned 0.30% of Estee Lauder Companies worth $70,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Winthrop Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 2,240.0% during the 1st quarter. Winthrop Capital Management LLC now owns 585 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 626 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 116.2% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 668 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 41.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 787 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 58.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 906 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Performance

EL stock traded up $0.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $94.22. 1,943,512 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,184,367. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $78.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $33.90 billion, a PE ratio of -38.96, a P/E/G ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.17. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.37 and a 1 year high of $103.44.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.51 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 15.60% and a negative net margin of 5.89%. Estee Lauder Companies's quarterly revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on EL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $62.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. HSBC upgraded Estee Lauder Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $99.00 in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Estee Lauder Companies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.50.

Estee Lauder Companies Company 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.