The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Shares Purchased by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,617 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter worth $55,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.5 %

EL stock opened at $132.94 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $145.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.18. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.22 and a 12 month high of $209.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $47.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.07.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly 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. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 148.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EL shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $169.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.