99,700 Shares in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Purchased by Waverton Investment Management Ltd

Waverton Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 99,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,474,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EL. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,392,000 after buying an additional 45,687 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 3,524 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,735,000 after acquiring an additional 41,773 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL stock opened at $71.71 on Monday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.77, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $159.54.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

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.