Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC Takes $1.16 Million Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 15,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,162,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,575,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,054,314,000 after purchasing an additional 913,470 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,996,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,630,000 after buying an additional 954,493 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,679,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,587,000 after buying an additional 70,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 81.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,971,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330,840 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

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

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

NYSE EL opened at $72.00 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $74.11 and its 200-day moving average is $79.39. 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 company has a market capitalization of $25.85 billion, a PE ratio of -36.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.54.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -71.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EL shares. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

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