Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 97.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,880 shares of the company's stock after selling 341,737 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EL. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,392,000 after purchasing an additional 45,687 shares during the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 3,524 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted 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 purchasing an additional 2,533,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company's stock worth $4,735,000 after acquiring an additional 41,773 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock traded up $1.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.64. 3,995,209 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,722,003. The firm's fifty day moving average is $73.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.74. The company has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $155.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. CICC Research began 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. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.