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

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,392,000 after buying an additional 45,687 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 3,524 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,735,000 after buying an additional 41,773 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE EL opened at $68.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.28, a PEG ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $75.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.37. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $159.54.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EL. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on 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. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, B. Riley cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 119,200 shares of company stock worth $7,801,318 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.