Principal Securities Inc. Has $51,000 Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Principal Securities Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 39.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 681 shares of the company’s stock after selling 448 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $51,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,510,000 after buying an additional 1,310,900 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,926 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 695.4% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,123,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,994,000 after acquiring an additional 982,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,127.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,059,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,580,000 after acquiring an additional 972,799 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $73.00 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $62.29 and a 52 week high of $159.54. The firm has a market cap of $26.20 billion, a PE ratio of -37.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $74.60 and its 200-day moving average is $80.57.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

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

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.