Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Invests $21.22 Million in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 283,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,222,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned 0.08% of Estée Lauder Companies as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position 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. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $66.11 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.81. The company has a market cap of $23.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.90, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.12. 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 Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a one year low of $48.37 and a one year high of $133.14.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.36. 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 $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -57.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EL. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price (down from $70.00) on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.20.

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.