Morningstar Investment Services LLC Grows Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 110.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 60,592 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,772 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $8,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 4,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,477.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 566,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,804,000 after buying an additional 550,355 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 517.6% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 46,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,820,000 after purchasing an additional 39,082 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth $819,000. Finally, YCG LLC lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. YCG LLC now owns 178,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,068,000 after purchasing an additional 9,619 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on EL. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America upgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.92.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $120.53 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.82. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.22 and a 1 year high of $204.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $43.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.71, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.04.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.32%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $1,967,134.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at $6,412,971.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total transaction of $1,670,107.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,578 shares in the company, valued at $728,598.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $1,967,134.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 47,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,412,971.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,255 shares of company stock valued at $5,453,232 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

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