Insider Buying: The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Director Buys 43,000 Shares of Stock

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the 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 approximately $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $65.09 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.37. 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 market cap of $23.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.03.

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 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the third 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 81.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,971,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330,840 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,510,000 after buying an additional 1,310,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,938,000 after buying an additional 1,078,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 695.4% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,123,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,994,000 after buying an additional 982,183 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.