The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Bought by Aquatic Capital Management LLC

Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 48.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,158 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 15,358 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $3,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,014,303 shares of the company's stock worth $2,025,532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,210 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 8,930,011 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $589,205,000 after buying an additional 2,458,379 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $554,509,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 148.9% in 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 during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % 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, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays decreased 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, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.20.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EL traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $59.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,290,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,056,921. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $62.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.81. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $21.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.37 and a 1-year high of $139.34.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.36. 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 $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is -57.85%.

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.