Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 99,878 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,438,459 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 99,878 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.40% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $107,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in 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 buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the fourth 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 period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of EL opened at $73.32 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.29 and a 1 year high of $159.54. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.61. The firm has a market cap of $26.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.60, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -71.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on EL. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of 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 began coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

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.