Avanza Fonder AB Makes New $1.61 Million Investment in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 21,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,608,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EL. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th 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. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Ecofi Investissements SA purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 752.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Finally, B. Riley cut their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.55.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE EL opened at $77.86 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $73.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.64. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $159.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.02.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.01 per share, with a total value of $4,960,775.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,010,345. The trade was a 49.36 % 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.

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.