Empowered Funds LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,721 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,679,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,587,000 after acquiring an additional 70,307 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310,900 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

EL opened at $71.71 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.54. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.05. The company has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.77, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted 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 business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

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.