Terra Alpha Investments LLC Acquires New Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Terra Alpha Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 18,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,356,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 2.7 %

EL opened at $66.64 on Monday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $155.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a PE ratio of -34.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results 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. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current 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 issued 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 yield of 2.10%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.