Bard Financial Services Inc. Grows Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 39.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,305 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,285 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $2,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,344,210 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 163.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,382,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,078,406,000 after acquiring an additional 8,930,011 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 7,858,158 shares of the company's stock valued at $589,205,000 after purchasing an additional 2,458,379 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $554,509,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 148.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,481,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $410,984,000 after purchasing an additional 3,278,632 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

NYSE:EL traded down $2.76 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.23. 3,199,379 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,151,202. The firm's 50-day moving average is $61.78 and its 200-day moving average is $68.91. The stock has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.48, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.37 and a 1-year high of $115.82.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -57.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EL. B. Riley reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.15.

Estée Lauder Companies Company 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.