3,351,612 Shares in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,351,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $251,304,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.93% of Estée Lauder Companies as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,014,303 shares of the company's stock worth $2,025,532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,210 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,054,314,000 after buying an additional 913,470 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake 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 worth $374,630,000 after buying an additional 954,493 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,679,154 shares of the company's stock worth $464,587,000 after buying an additional 70,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 11,026.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,343,607 shares of the company's stock worth $250,704,000 after buying an additional 3,313,557 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 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, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of EL stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $66.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,118,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,822,270. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.70 billion, a PE ratio of -33.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $71.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.96. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $155.73.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

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

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.