KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $6.08 Million in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 81,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,077,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 11,026.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,343,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,704,000 after purchasing an additional 3,313,557 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,971,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,807,000 after buying an additional 1,330,840 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $111,994,000 after acquiring an additional 982,183 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,996,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,630,000 after acquiring an additional 954,493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EL shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $65.79 per share, with a total value 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 approximately $156,645.99. This represents a 41.64 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 43,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % 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 Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE EL opened at $66.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $23.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $155.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $72.66 and a 200-day moving average of $77.50.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -71.79%.

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.