Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd Trims Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd trimmed its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 39.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,670 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,335 shares during the period. Estée Lauder Companies comprises 3.2% of Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.4 %

EL stock opened at $67.04 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $72.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.01. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $155.73. The company has a market cap of $24.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the business’s 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 $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased 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 in the company, valued at $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

Estée 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.