Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Buys 1,330 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,785 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $6,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $68.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $75.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.03.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 16.82%. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on EL. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 430,800 shares in the company, valued at $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava acquired 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at $156,645.99. This trade represents 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 owned by insiders.

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.