The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Acquired by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 482.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,400 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 35,950 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $3,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EL. FMR LLC lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,382,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,078,406,000 after acquiring an additional 8,930,011 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $251,304,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 11,026.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,343,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,704,000 after purchasing an additional 3,313,557 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 148.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,481,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,984,000 after buying an additional 3,278,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 7,858,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,205,000 after buying an additional 2,458,379 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 3.2 %

EL stock opened at $54.37 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.37 and a 12-month high of $149.91. The business’s 50-day moving average is $65.43 and its 200 day moving average is $73.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.88, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -71.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.57.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

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.