Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,796,317 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 117,163 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.34% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $358,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,014,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,025,532,000 after acquiring an additional 2,344,210 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,575,926 shares of the company's stock worth $1,054,314,000 after buying an additional 913,470 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,996,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $374,630,000 after buying an additional 954,493 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $251,304,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 11,026.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,343,607 shares of the company's stock worth $250,704,000 after acquiring an additional 3,313,557 shares in the last quarter. 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 Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
EL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. CICC Research started coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.52.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on EL
Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 6.8 %
Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock traded down $3.81 during trading on Thursday, reaching $52.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,891,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,239,851. 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 company has a market capitalization of $18.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.37 and a 52 week high of $149.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.25.
Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -71.79%.
About Estée Lauder Companies
(
Free Report)
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.
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