American Assets Inc. Takes $487,000 Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

American Assets Inc. acquired a new position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $487,000. Estée Lauder Companies comprises 0.1% of American Assets Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Wealth Services grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

EL opened at $73.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.16 and a 200 day moving average of $79.61. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $159.54. The stock has a market cap of $26.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.60, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors 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 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EL. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.