15,372 Shares in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Acquired by ABC Arbitrage SA

ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 15,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $68.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.70 billion, a PE ratio of -35.28, a PEG ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.94. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $159.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The business’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 119,200 shares of company stock valued at $7,801,318. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on EL shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.