South Dakota Investment Council Buys 12,776 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

South Dakota Investment Council grew its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 81.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,465 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,776 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now 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. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $71.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.77, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $159.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.83 and a 200 day moving average of $80.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -71.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on EL shares. Citigroup downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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. 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. 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. Finally, B. Riley decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

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.