Bell Asset Management Ltd Buys 7,062 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Bell Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,426 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,062 shares during the quarter. Estée Lauder Companies comprises 1.6% of Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $10,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 21,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,073,000 after buying an additional 3,743 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 23,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,523,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 45.2% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 303.0% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,490,000 after acquiring an additional 480,633 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 8,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $169.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $164.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total value of $1,815,989.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,958,990.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $1,967,134.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total value of $1,815,989.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,958,990.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,255 shares of company stock valued at $5,453,232 in the last 90 days. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL stock traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $123.53. 2,603,378 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,786,184. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.22 and a 12 month high of $204.41. The company has a market cap of $44.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.40, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $137.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. 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.