Estée Lauder Director Bought the Stock Dip
Estée Lauder stock has continued slumping in the new year, and one of its directors scooped up a large block of shares of the beauty company.
Estée Lauder’s stock tumbled earlier this month on news of a disappointing outlook. Last year, the share price was cut in half, hurt by soft sales in Asia, and China in particular, and the replacements of both the chief financial officer and CEO. A family drama also came into play, as the granddaughter of the founder urged some Estée Lauder board members in early September to oust her cousin, the company’s executive chairman.
Director Paul J. Fribourg paid $8.7 million from Feb. 5 through 7 for 132,500 Estée Lauder shares, an average price of $65.52 each. He bought the stock through Continental Grain, a privately owned investor in food and agribusiness where Fribourg serves as chairman and CEO. He is also a co-trustee and a beneficiary of family trusts that collectively control a majority interest in Continental Grain.
Forms that Fribourg filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission show that Continental Grain now owns 520,300 Estée Lauder shares. He also owns 4,000 Estée Lauder shares in a personal account.
Continental Grain didn’t respond to a request to make Fribourg available for comment on the stock purchases. Fribourg joined Estée Lauder’s board in 2006. He last bought the company’s stock on the open market in November 2024, when he paid $25 million for 387,800 shares, an average of $64.27 each.