Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Acquires 1,817 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,265 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,817 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $8,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 1,133 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $409,000. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,137.6% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 399,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 367,503 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 31,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,651,000 after purchasing an additional 2,694 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on EL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $136.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $129.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.27.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL stock opened at $84.56 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.90. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $82.39 and a one year high of $159.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.33 billion, a PE ratio of 47.51, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.39. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.32%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.77% 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, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.