Insider Buying: The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Director Purchases 43,000 Shares of Stock

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

EL stock traded up $0.83 on Friday, hitting $65.09. 4,661,787 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,463,327. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $23.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.23, a P/E/G ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.03. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.86 and a 200-day moving average of $83.26.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 250.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EL shares. CICC Research assumed coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty investment 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, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.