The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Bought by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 482.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 43,400 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 35,950 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $3,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the 4th 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 period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EL. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $54.37 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.37 and a 12 month high of $149.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.88, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $65.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.64.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The business’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

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

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.