Oak Thistle LLC Buys New Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 15,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,129,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in 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 buying an additional 2,533,006 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,439 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company's stock worth $292,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company's stock worth $402,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,926 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company's stock valued at $368,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,320 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $96.50.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

EL traded up $0.70 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.57. The stock had a trading volume of 2,252,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,030,544. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $159.75. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.96. The firm has a market cap of $26.77 billion, a PE ratio of 133.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 1.02.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is presently 250.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $64.01 per share, with a total value of $4,960,775.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 234,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.