The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Acquired by Nekton Capital Ltd.

Nekton Capital Ltd. lifted its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 97.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,640 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,961 shares during the period. Estée Lauder Companies comprises about 12.0% of Nekton Capital Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Nekton Capital Ltd.'s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $4,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EL. Bard Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,789,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,555,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $199,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,715 shares of the company's stock worth $2,863,000 after buying an additional 5,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company's stock worth $13,392,000 after buying an additional 45,687 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on EL shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $81.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 430,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:EL traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,585,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,078,465. The firm has a market cap of $21.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.37 and a 1 year high of $149.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.70.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

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.