Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Makes New Investment in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Twenty investment 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $65.83 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $72.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.42. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $155.73. The firm has a market cap of $23.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.76, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

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.