Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Raises Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. boosted its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,205,989 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 206,472 shares during the period. Estée Lauder Companies makes up 1.8% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned 0.34% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $90,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought 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 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % 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.

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Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE:EL traded up $2.45 during trading on Monday, reaching $68.97. 2,775,521 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,718,217. 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 stock has a market cap of $24.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $73.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.65. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $155.73.

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

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -71.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.