Riverwater Partners LLC Purchases New Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Riverwater Partners LLC purchased a new stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $458,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peterson Wealth Services grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,506 shares of the company's stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock traded down $3.85 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $52.32. 2,457,757 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,972,868. The stock has a market cap of $18.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.72, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $67.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.25. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.37 and a 12 month high of $149.91.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. Estée Lauder Companies's revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -71.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % 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 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.