The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Purchased by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 32.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,174 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,258 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Wealth Services grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted 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 valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $66.64 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $155.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.65.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EL shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $65.79 per share, with a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 company insiders.

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.