Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $11.12 Million Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,259 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,295 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $11,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,000 after acquiring an additional 3,562 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 59.0% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth about $50,128,000. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 1.8% during the third quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 46,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,627,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. The trade was 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.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $71.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.77, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $159.54. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $74.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.96.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is -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.