Washington Capital Management Inc. Invests $352,000 in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Washington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company's stock worth $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company's stock worth $402,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,926 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 695.4% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,123,427 shares of the company's stock worth $111,994,000 after purchasing an additional 982,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,127.5% in the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,059,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,580,000 after purchasing an additional 972,799 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. HSBC cut Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $125.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.95.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 77,500 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 234,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock traded up $2.64 during trading on Thursday, hitting $84.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,648,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,121,778. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.29 and a 1 year high of $159.75. The stock's 50 day moving average is $76.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.18. The stock has a market cap of $30.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 151.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies 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.