The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Bought by ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 126,462 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,450 shares during the period. Estée Lauder Companies accounts for 1.0% of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $9,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the 4th 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 5.1 %

EL stock opened at $72.20 on Wednesday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $62.29 and a one year high of $159.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $75.39 and a 200-day moving average of $81.33.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its 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 negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current 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 $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -71.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 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, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

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.