ABC Arbitrage SA Increases Stake in The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Key Points

• ABC Arbitrage SA increased its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies Inc. by 49.1% during the first quarter, bringing its total value to $1.51 million.
• Several hedge funds have also significantly altered their positions in Estee Lauder, with Mather Group LLC boosting its stake by 442.5%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Estee Lauder, with an average target price of $84.50 and a variety of recommendations from hold to strong buy.

ABC Arbitrage SA increased its position in shares of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 49.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,913 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,541 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA's holdings in Estee Lauder Companies were worth $1,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. FMR LLC grew its position in Estee Lauder Companies by 163.8% during the fourth 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. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $554,509,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 148.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,481,248 shares of the company's stock worth $410,984,000 after acquiring an additional 3,278,632 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 7,858,158 shares of the company's stock worth $589,205,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458,379 shares during the period. Finally, Continental Grain Co. purchased a new position in Estee Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,077,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $62.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $84.50.

Estee Lauder Companies Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Estee Lauder Companies stock traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $91.22. 2,320,844 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,671,828. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.37 and a 52-week high of $103.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $81.99 and a 200-day moving average of $71.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 1.18.

About Estee 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.