Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Grows Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 308.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,357 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,821 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,330,840 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310,900 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 695.4% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,123,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,994,000 after acquiring an additional 982,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,127.5% during the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,059,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,580,000 after purchasing an additional 972,799 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of EL opened at $66.64 on Monday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $155.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.17, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.54 and a 200-day moving average of $78.65.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. 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 $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.