U S Global Investors Inc. Increases Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

U S Global Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 83.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during 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 acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased 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 in the company, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL opened at $73.00 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $74.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.57. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.29 and a 1 year high of $159.54. 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 firm has a market cap of $26.20 billion, a PE ratio of -37.43, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

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.