J. Stern & Co. LLP Acquires 4,001,300 Shares of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. $EL

Key Points

• J. Stern & Co. LLP sharply increased its stake in Estee Lauder Companies, adding 4,001,300 shares in the fourth quarter and bringing its total holdings to 4,094,761 shares. The stock now represents about 1.2% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive, with the stock carrying an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.65. Recent actions included price-target changes and rating downgrades/maintain calls from firms like Canaccord Genuity, Deutsche Bank, and Wells Fargo.
• Estee Lauder reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.91 versus estimates of $0.66 and revenue of $3.71 billion, up 4.6% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, equal to a 1.6% annualized yield.

J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its holdings in The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 4,281.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,094,761 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,001,300 shares during the quarter. Estee Lauder Companies makes up 1.2% of J. Stern & Co. LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. J. Stern & Co. LLP owned 1.13% of Estee Lauder Companies worth $4,094,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of EL. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna bought a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 324 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $124.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.65.

Estee Lauder Companies Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE EL opened at $87.77 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market cap of $31.75 billion, a PE ratio of -125.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.53. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.22 and a 52 week high of $121.64.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 1.67% and a positive return on equity of 20.66%. Estee Lauder Companies's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.330-2.430 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Estee Lauder Companies's payout ratio is currently -200.00%.

Estee Lauder Companies Company 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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