Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Boosts Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. boosted its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,205,989 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 206,472 shares during the period. Estée Lauder Companies makes up approximately 1.8% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $90,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

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

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $66.53 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.13. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.54. The stock has a market cap of $23.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.12, a PEG 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 announced 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 company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EL. Barclays reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. CICC Research started coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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.