Acadian Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 17,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,827,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,686,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,188,832,000 after buying an additional 1,250,555 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $518,975,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,163,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,612,000 after purchasing an additional 140,416 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,962,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,262,000 after purchasing an additional 318,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $291,171,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,714.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $136.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.57.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE EL opened at $84.56 on Friday. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.39 and a 52-week high of $159.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $30.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.09.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.07 EPS. Analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.32%.

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, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.