Banque Pictet & Cie SA Buys 30,971 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,538,034 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,971 shares during the quarter. Estée Lauder Companies comprises about 0.8% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned about 0.43% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $115,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company's stock worth $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 41,773 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EL shares. CICC Research assumed coverage on 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. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. B. Riley lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 5.1 %

NYSE:EL traded up $3.51 on Tuesday, hitting $72.20. The stock had a trading volume of 4,242,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,494,215. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $159.54. The business's fifty day moving average is $75.60 and its 200 day moving average is $81.50. The company has a market cap of $25.92 billion, a PE ratio of -37.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.03.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued 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 1.94%. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently -71.79%.

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.