Bridgewater Associates LP Has $3.16 Million Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 33.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,148 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,742 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $3,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,014,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,025,532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,210 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,382,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,078,406,000 after buying an additional 8,930,011 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 7,858,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,205,000 after buying an additional 2,458,379 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 148.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,481,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,984,000 after buying an additional 3,278,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,996,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,630,000 after acquiring an additional 954,493 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on EL shares. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. CICC Research initiated coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $54.37 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.37 and a 52-week high of $149.91. The company has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of -27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.43 and a 200-day moving average of $73.64.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -71.79%.

Insider Activity

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

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.