U S Global Investors Inc. Raises Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 83.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Peterson Wealth Services raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $73.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.20 billion, a PE ratio of -37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.54. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.57.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -71.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on EL shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. B. Riley cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

Insider Activity

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

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.