Bank of America Corp DE Has $993.57 Million Holdings in The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. $EL

Key Points

• Bank of America significantly increased its Estée Lauder stake by 950.9% in the first quarter, acquiring 12.5 million additional shares and bringing its holdings to 13.84 million shares valued at approximately $993.6 million, or 3.83% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Estée Lauder has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $96.95, with 10 holds, eight buys, one strong buy and two sells.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.91 per share, beating estimates of $0.66, while revenue rose 4.6% year over year to $3.71 billion. Shares opened at $83.80, near their 50-day moving average of $84.10.

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 950.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,843,765 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,526,471 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 3.83% of Estee Lauder Companies worth $993,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,952,869 shares of the company's stock worth $2,927,224,000 after buying an additional 1,043,746 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,585,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,213,263,000 after acquiring an additional 467,195 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 185.3% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,140,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $861,596,000 after acquiring an additional 5,286,875 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 7,837,249 shares of the company's stock worth $820,717,000 after acquiring an additional 83,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,497,179 shares of the company's stock worth $785,105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384,678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on EL shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $96.95.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL stock opened at $83.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.27. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.22 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company's 50 day moving average price is $84.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.49. The company has a market capitalization of $30.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -119.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.27.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.69 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 1.67% and a positive return on equity of 20.66%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estee Lauder Companies Profile

Estée Lauder Companies Inc NYSE: EL is a global leader in prestige beauty that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. Founded in 1946 by Estée Lauder, the company has grown from a small family business into a multinational consumer-products enterprise headquartered in New York City. Its activities span product research and development, brand and product marketing, manufacturing and global distribution across multiple retail channels.

The company's portfolio includes a mix of legacy and prestige brands that target different consumer segments and price points, with well-known names such as Estée Lauder, Clinique, MAC, La Mer and Jo Malone among others.

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