Avanza Fonder AB Invests $1.61 Million in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 21,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,608,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during 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 during the period. Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 752.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $77.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.95 billion, a PE ratio of 139.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.02. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.64.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 250.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 75,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $64.93 per share, for a total transaction of $4,902,215.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,128,300. The trade was a 32.20 % 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EL. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $63.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.55.

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.