Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Grows Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 349.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,904 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,700 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Peterson Wealth Services grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL opened at $65.42 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $72.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.14. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $155.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.48 billion, a PE ratio of -33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value 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 $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Profile

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.