Hershey Financial Advisers LLC Takes Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 20,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,537,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 7.5% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,434 shares of the company's stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 12.7% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 2,992 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 60.8% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter valued at $602,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,338,581 shares of the company's stock worth $133,443,000 after buying an additional 35,364 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of EL traded down $1.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $66.07. The company had a trading volume of 2,362,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,751,052. 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 $23.72 billion, a PE ratio of -33.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $62.29 and a one year high of $155.73. The company's fifty day moving average price is $72.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.50.

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Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm's revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is -71.79%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. The trade was 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EL. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, December 27th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.00.

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.