Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 836,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,752,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 1.8 %

EL opened at $72.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.92, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $74.11 and its 200-day moving average is $79.39. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $159.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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.