Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $3.07 Million Stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,014 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,743 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $3,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of EL opened at $120.47 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $136.00 and a 200 day moving average of $138.95. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.22 and a fifty-two week high of $204.41. The firm has a market cap of $43.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is presently 148.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on EL shares. Bank of America upgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $160.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total transaction of $1,967,134.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 47,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total transaction of $1,670,107.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $728,598.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,255 shares of company stock valued at $5,453,232 in the last quarter. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.