Riverwater Partners LLC Makes New $458,000 Investment in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Riverwater Partners LLC bought a new stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $458,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EL. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

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

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 9.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $52.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.12, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.48 and a 1-year high of $149.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is -71.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on EL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty investment 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, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

About Estée Lauder Companies

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.