The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Acquired by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,069 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,753 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have 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 third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on EL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 2.5 %

EL opened at $73.32 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $26.32 billion, a PE ratio of -37.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. 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 Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.29 and a 1 year high of $159.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $74.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.53.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -71.79%.

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.