15,061 Shares in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Bought by Oak Thistle LLC

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 15,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,129,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,575,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,054,314,000 after purchasing an additional 913,470 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew 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 worth $570,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533,006 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 1.5% in 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 during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,320 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.6 %

EL stock opened at $73.82 on Wednesday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $26.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.82, a PEG ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $73.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.96.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 250.00%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 77,500 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at $15,010,345. The trade was a 49.36 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $113.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.50.

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.