Fmr LLC Acquires 8,930,011 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

FMR LLC boosted its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 163.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,382,579 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,930,011 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 4.01% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $1,078,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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. Washington Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $352,000. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 91,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,838,000 after buying an additional 4,690 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on EL. Barclays cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $84.67.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

EL traded up $1.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $55.19. The company had a trading volume of 4,457,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,014,484. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.37 and a 12-month high of $149.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.54. The stock has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a PE ratio of -28.30, a P/E/G 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.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend 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.