Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Boosts Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 573,871 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 91,736 shares during the quarter. Estée Lauder Companies makes up about 2.3% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned about 0.16% of Estée Lauder Companies worth $81,390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 16,682 shares of the company's stock worth $2,440,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,773 shares of the company's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 1.6 %

Estée Lauder Companies stock traded up $2.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $138.24. The company had a trading volume of 2,614,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,775,719. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.22 and a 12-month high of $204.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $143.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.97. The firm has a market cap of $49.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.07.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 148.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $1,967,134.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at $6,412,971.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Bernstein Bank upped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup raised shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $160.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $160.92.

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, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.