Hershey Financial Advisers LLC Purchases Shares of 20,504 The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 20,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,537,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peterson Wealth Services grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $67.04 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $24.07 billion, a PE ratio of -34.38, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $72.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.81. 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 Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.29 and a 1 year high of $155.73.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. 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 price target of $86.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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.