Soros Capital Management LLC Makes New $4.96 Million Investment in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Soros Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 66,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,960,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Wealth Services boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of EL opened at $54.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.37 and a 1 year high of $149.91. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.02.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.57.

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.