The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Purchased by Brookstone Capital Management

Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,950 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EL. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Ecofi Investissements SA acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth about $53,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 752.9% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

EL opened at $77.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $27.95 billion, a PE ratio of 139.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $73.76 and a 200-day moving average of $85.50. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 dividend of $0.35 per share. 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 presently 250.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 77,500 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 234,500 shares in the company, valued at $15,010,345. This represents a 49.36 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.55.

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.