Pinebridge Investments L.P. Sells 37,506 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 63.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,584 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,506 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bard Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth $1,789,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $1,555,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $199,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,863,000 after buying an additional 5,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,392,000 after acquiring an additional 45,687 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

EL stock traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $58.77. 5,808,846 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,089,719. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.10 billion, a PE ratio of -30.14, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.37 and a 52 week high of $141.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.28.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.36. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.19.

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.