Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Acquires New Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,575,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,054,314,000 after acquiring an additional 913,470 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,996,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,630,000 after purchasing an additional 954,493 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,679,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,587,000 after purchasing an additional 70,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew 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 buying an additional 1,310,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $74.69 on Wednesday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $74.67 and a 200-day moving average of $80.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $26.81 billion, a PE ratio of -38.30, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) 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 the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -71.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

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.