Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Has $8.45 Million Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 40.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 112,630 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 32,259 shares during the period. Estée Lauder Companies comprises about 1.1% of Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $8,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $71.71 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.96. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.54. The firm has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -71.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. B. Riley dropped their price target on 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. Barclays dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.