Waverton Investment Management Ltd Takes $7.47 Million Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 99,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,474,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also 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 $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,392,000 after acquiring an additional 45,687 shares during the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533,006 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% in the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 41,773 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of 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. B. Riley lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on 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, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $71.71 on Monday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a PE ratio of -36.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $74.83 and its 200-day moving average is $80.89.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share 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 given a $0.35 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently -71.79%.

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.