Mariner LLC Raises Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 88.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,168 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 48,294 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $7,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EL. Bard Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter worth $1,789,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter worth about $1,555,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter worth about $199,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 25.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,715 shares of the company's stock worth $2,863,000 after buying an additional 5,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company's stock worth $13,392,000 after buying an additional 45,687 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on EL shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target 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. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $81.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,583,580. This trade represents 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 owned by insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:EL traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $58.44. 979,569 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,057,806. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.98, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.37 and a fifty-two week high of $149.06. 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 50 day simple moving average of $64.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.51.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies's quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -71.79%.

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.